The Assassin
by imslytherinatheart
Summary: Hermione had betrayed and been betrayed, leaving her a different person than she used to be. She has taken a new job that requires her to be devoid of all feeling and able to kill on command... until Draco Malfoy became her assignment. Dark Hermione.
1. Chapter 1

Betrayal is one of those things that can make or break you depending on circumstances

Betrayal is one of those things that can make or break you depending on circumstances. It is often seen in either black or white with no middle ground but in reality, betrayal could be seen as gray… if anyone dared to look.

To the light, Peter Petigrew was a betrayer in the black spectrum of things. He betrayed everyone for his own advancement and good people lost their lives for his mistakes. He showed no remorse for his actions, not an ounce of care that he caused the death of two friends and left a child to grow up without parents. He was selfish and did things for his own sake, not caring what happened to anyone else.

To the dark side, Peter did the right thing. He gave Voldemort information that would help him and was rewarded for his actions. This put him in the white spectrum of things and not the black like the light did.

Severus Snape was another example of Black and white. To the side of the Deatheaters and Voldemort, he was a loyal follower who spied on the side of the light for their advancement. He was their inside man, the man who could get them information on Harry Potter and The Order and ultimately bring them victory. They didn't know he was secretly on the side of the light, keeping The Order informed on all activity that could help bring down the most vile wizard of all times. Severus Snapes betrayal was seen in the white spectrum of things. His betrayal of Voldemort and his followers was for the advancement of good. Sure, there was some aspect of it being self-serving as well but in a completely different was then Petigrews.

And lastly, there is Hermione Granger. Her betrayal fell into that special area of gray that no one cared to look into. She didn't do it for her own advancement, she didn't do it for the advancement of anyone else, Hermione's betrayal was forced from her and she hated herself for being weak.

Being in the gray area left her hated by both the sides of the light and dark. The order no longer wanted anything to do with her and Voldemort wasn't exactly her best friend. Her life had been blown apart, turned upside down and stomped on and in the end of everything, she didn't have much of a choice in it.

Her betrayal had cost the lives of several people and injury to many, many more then those who were lost in the war. Everyone, no matter the real reason, saw her betrayal as black, end of story. They didn't look at the fact that she had been tortured, raped and repeatedly beaten for almost five months. They said she should have been stronger, willing to die to protect the secrets and fought harder for everything.

They didn't consider the fact that she had been strong, kept the secrets for almost five months. She begged for death over and over again to avoid saying anything that would cause harm but it never came and when the fifth month rolled around, she finally relented in hopes that they would finally give her the death she so desperately hoped for.

During her captivity with Lucius Malfoy, she had lost many things. Her self-respect was gone, her will to fight was gone and the hardest pill to swallow was the fact that her ability to give Ron the children he wanted was gone. Lucius had taken all of that from her and looked like he loved every minute of it.

Her betrayal caused Harry to win the fight against Voldemort but he wasn't ready for it. He wasn't prepared to fight the powerful wizard and almost lost his life because of it. Pure dumb luck was what saved him but he had lost many people he cared about and when Hermione was discovered to be the cause of it, his loyalty towards her was gone in an instant along with everyone else's.

Her rescue from Malfoy Manor was joyous at first. They celebrated for days because of her safe return but those days were short lived. She wasn't the same girl she used to be. She was detached and isolated herself from the festivities because the guilt was so strong. She knew she would never be the same but the love of her friends kept her holding on, kept her wanting to regain some normalcy in her life… she didn't know those same friends would be the ones to place the final nails in her coffin.

A week after her rescue, She and Ron finally had some time alone. She missed him terribly when she was being held and the thought of him and Harry kept her alive. She wanted to pick up where they had left off, engaged and planning a wedding but when she broke down and told him she could never have children, he canceled the entire thing saying he couldn't live without the possibility of having children. His rejection stung worse then anything Lucius Malfoy had done. Ron had hurt her heart that day and added the first of the two nails.

The second nail was added only a few days later when it was revealed that she had been the one to give Harrys position away to Voldemort. She had tried to reason with him, explain everything that she had gone through but he wouldn't listen. He had lost too much that day and finding that one of his best friends had essentially given him up to Voldemort on a silver platter turned him against her.

When the news spilled out about her betrayal, the wizarding world turned against her. She couldn't walk down the streets of Diagon Alley in peace, she couldn't enter most stores as she was immediately turned away, people pulled their children away from her like she was some monster that would eat them and everyone she cared about cut all ties from her.

She was alone in the world and not a single person held an ounce of sympathy for her. She didn't want their pity or their words of encouragement, all she wanted was to move on with life but it seemed as if no one wanted to let her do that.

Over the course of the next three years, her personality changed, her outlook on life changed and she became a complete and total no body. No one cared if she lived or died, no one even acknowledged she existed and that in it self hurt a lot more then she dared to admit.

No one was willing to hire her, no one was willing to rent her a flat and three years after Voldemorts downfall, she found herself homeless and trying to survive in a world that she had fought to protect for many years of her adolescence.

Everything that had happened to her, each foul name she was called, every rock thrown caused the old, loving Hermione to die and a cold hearted Hermione to be born. The names no longer bothered her, the glares did nothing but make her shrug and every ounce of caring she had, had gone out the window.

She didn't smile at children she passed on the street like she used to, she didn't try to help anyone, muggle, wizard or elf any longer and every day that she woke up, was just another day of hell for her.

The Ministry had started a new department after the war, a secret department that a total of only five people knew of its existence, Hermione was one of them. It appears that she had been being watched for quite some time and when it was noticed that she had indeed become a cold hearted and seemingly without feeling, they approached her with a job that she wouldn't refuse.

She was initially reluctant to take the job but when it came down to it, she simply couldn't refuse it. She was offered a nice place to live, a generous salary and intensive training that would challenge her. The job itself was simple but it required the right type of person to do it and with her jaded outlook on life, it put her as the perfect candidate.

She had a partner but their relationship was one of business and nothing more. Frank Collins was just as jaded as she was and just as smart as well. They were not friends and often worked alone unless their assignment required them both.

Six months into her new job, she had already accomplished several tasks and grew more and more accustom to doing it. The first time had been hard but afterwards, it became another day at work. Her feelings had already been numbed over the years and where most would not be able to do what she was doing, she simply did it and walked away. It was almost sickening how easily it came to her but mercy was no longer in her vocabulary. She was cold, hard and fit perfectly in her job as an assassin for the Ministry of Magic.


	2. Chapter 2

The ministry had created the positions after Voldemort had been defeated. Their goal was to make sure it didn't happen again and anyone who fit the profile of being a wizard or witch like Voldemort was watched and taken out if necessary.

Her office was at the ministry on the 4th floor and to everyone around, she was one of the Ministers secretaries. They didn't know the truth, only a few did and they weren't talking. She wasn't wanted there, that was clear from the beginning but she was there to do a job, not win popularity contest.

Ron and Harry about had a fit when they found her working there and of course that started a chain reaction. The ones that would have probably stayed neutral in the entire mess were easily swayed by the looks of absolute loathing and disgust that were showered upon her.

She was glared at, at least 12 times a day, doors were slammed in her face, a few of the braver ones would try to trip her as she walked and if she needed a favor… it was just out of the question. She, however, ignored the taunts and insults and went about her life.

She had expected it before she stepped foot in the building on the first day and she couldn't help but smirk when she thought about how easily they could be eliminated. The old Hermione would have never thought such things but the changed Hermione found the thoughts humorous.

She walked through the Ministry as quickly as she could to avoid any trouble. She didn't have time to glare back or silently cast a tripping curse on anyone because she was due to receive the information on her next assignment and the 'delivery man' waited for no one.

She reached her office in record time, avoiding anyone whom normally caused issues and plopped down in her chair to wait. The mans ETA was in five minutes and she needed time to prepare the office.

Exactly five minutes later, a tall man with black hair and blue eyes came into her office. A simple nod was exchanged and Hermione quickly went to work on setting up wards, silencing charms, detection charms and everything else to ensure complete privacy.

"Hello George." She said calmly, "Do you have the information?"

George didn't smile, he never did, but he nodded once again and smirked, "I think you may like this one." He stated calmly, "His father was a man worthy of your… attentions and the Ministry is sure the son is walking in daddy's footsteps."

Hermione smirked, George always seemed to get a bit excited when he felt the assignment was truly worthy.

"Really, George, You seem almost too happy about this"

She reached her hand out for the file, she was curious who it was as only a handful of people fit that description. The file itself was thick and contained more then a year of information.

"The assignment is one Draco Malfoy. The orders are to observe him and find out what he is up to. If you suspect anything that will cause need for his elimination, you have permission to do so without consent."

Hermione opened the file and flipped through the pages. She remained completely stone-faced and didn't even flinch when the Malfoy name greeted her. It contained recent pictures, bank information, business information, personal information and everything else that had anything to do with him. She would know more about him than he would when this thing was over.

"Let them know that I will start on this right away." She said as she tucked the file into a drawer.

George stood and said his good-byes, leaving Hermione grinning like a Cheshire cat. Draco fucking Malfoy was her new assignment and she very much hoped he would be one that needed to be eliminated. Yes, he didn't do anything to her per say but that didn't mean she would go easy on him. As far as she was concerned, eliminating the only Malfoy heir would be the perfect revenge for her inability to have children herself. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

She knew she could go home for the day, she needed to so she could lock herself up in her home office and sort out all the details of Dracos life. There, she would separate anything that could be of use from the stuff that was better used a kindling. Revenge was sweet.

00000

It only took her 10 hours to sort through the mess. Draco had taken over all of the family businesses, was recently divorced from a woman named Sylvia and had a child, a daughter as a matter of fact. The old Hermione would have immediately freaked out at the idea of having to kill a father of a young child, but life was life and if he was causing problems, then his life meant nothing to her.

She noticed that he had two separate accounts from all of the other normal ones such as businesses and personal. These accounts were secured to the max making him the only one who could access them. She didn't know what they contained but she intended to find out.

The other information was on properties he owned. She noticed that most of them remained unoccupied but one in particular had recently been going under renovations. She wondered why he would be fixing one house up when he had the manor to live in. His ex wife was already staying in another property so she was pretty sure it wasn't for her. A mistress perhaps?

It seemed that Draco had a lot of things that she needed to weed through and she knew he wouldn't tell her willingly. She would have to use every ounce of her training on this one to make sure she didn't get caught for if she did, she was as good as dead either way.

Draco Malfoy had become a man that from what she could tell would stop at nothing to keep his secrets from coming to light. He was not a do gooder like Ron or Harry, he was not out there for the sake of the world, no, Draco Malfoy was like her in a way by being self serving and trying to survive, she could respect that.

When nighttime finally fell, Hermione found she needed some kind of release. She had been working constantly for the last few months and she really just needed a place where she could find a dark corner, drink just enough to get her buzzed, come home, and pass out to a decent nights sleep. Her plan was to start working on Malfoy first thing and she needed her unwind time.

She slipped on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, pulled her hair back into a pony tail and apparated away to a bar called The Night Stalkers. It wasn't the nicest place in the world, as a matter of fact, no self respecting witch or wizard dared to be seen there but she was Hermione Granger, she didn't have a reputation that needed protecting, they were her kind of people.

The inside looked a lot bigger then it did on the outside. The smell of mold, stale smoke and alcohol assaulted your senses as soon as you walked in and you could hardly see anyone else that was there due to the dim lighting and poorly laid out floor plan.

She didn't need to see where she was going, she already knew where her table was and if it were taken she had a back up. She made her way to the very back and grinned to herself when she found her favorite table empty and calling for her. She ordered four glasses of Whiskey, lined them up and started her night.

Three glasses down, one to go and she was well on her way to being good and buzzed. Her eyes were growing heavy, her equilibrium was off and slowly the pain of living slipped away. It was easier to drink and numb yourself from the world, it was easier to drink away the faces of the men that you had killed and it was easier to drink away the momentary twinges of remorse and longing for normalcy.

She picked up the final glass and brought it to her lips, one more and she would be ready to go home, one more and she would be right with the world if only for the night.

"You're a pretty one." A voice said from above her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'm not for you to look at so fuck off.

The man laughed, "Feisty too… I like that in a woman."

She didn't look up, she didn't need to. She could tell the man was plastered, older and judging by the ring on his finger, very much married.

"Look buddy, just go back to your bar stool and leave me be. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

That was when the man made a mistake. He didn't listen to her words of warning and go back to where ever the hell he came from, instead, he gripped the top of her hair and pulled her head up.

"No wonder you wouldn't look at me." The man laughed, "You're that Granger girl."

He touched her, he fucking pulled her hair and touched her and that was unacceptable. It a flash of speed that no half-drunk person should possess, the man was slammed against the wall, wand pointed to his throat and face to face with and absolutely angry woman.

"Listen to me and listen to me good. I could care less what you think of me. I could care less who you are but I am going to warn you only once that you will never touch me again. Is that clear?"

The man wanted to laugh, the girl was tiny compared to him but even he had to admit she had balls for what she was doing.

"Or you'll what?" he asked snidely, "Will you run and rat me out like you did Potter? Get me killed like all those people years ago?"

Hermione tightened her grip on the man. There was no way she was going to explain herself to some slug of a man who wouldn't listen or matter anyway.

"I will do no such thing." She replied, "I wouldn't need to do anything of the sort because I could kill you myself and wouldn't feel the slightest bit of remorse for it."

The man openly laughed at her. Laughed so hard that he didn't see her ball up her fist. He didn't see her pull back as far as she could and he sure as hell didn't see her swing like a full-grown man… At least not until it was too late and he was on the floor, out cold.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione wasn't sure if fate, the gods, or some other magic power determined the way people's lives turned out

A/N: I should probably warn you to not expect the caring, oh I was a bad boy Draco and I'm sorry in this…at least not for a bit.

Hermione wasn't sure if fate, the gods, or some other magic power determined the way people's lives turned out. She didn't know if maybe reincarnation played into anything, like if you were evil in a passed life, you were essentially tortured in the next. She just didn't understand how things could have changed for her so drastically and why her life turned to shit while Draco fucking Malfoy lived like a king, despite what a jerk he was back in school.

Irony was a bitch, she decided as she watched him in silence under a disillusionment charm. He ran and played with his young daughter, who from what Hermione could tell, absolutely adored her father. She would run as fast as her little legs would carry her, trying her hardest to escape the long strides of her father. Her blond curls would bounce through the air, the sunlight seemed to hang onto every strand as the little girl giggled like a maniac.

When Draco would get too close, the little girl, or according to her records, named Abby, would drop to the ground in laughter, surrendering to him with total cuteness. He would collapse on the ground with her and pull her to sit across his stomach where he would tickle her until she begged for mercy.

The scene made bile rise up into her throat.

It was too perfect, he was too perfect and she was sure Draco finally learned that he needed to be human when his daughter was born.

She looked away a lot, hating seeing them as they _frolicked_ through the grounds of Malfoy Manor. The happiness that practically radiated from them had her rolling her eyes more times then she ever remember doing to anyone and they seemed to _always_ be happy.

The wards of Malfoy Manor were easy enough to get passed without being suspected and she took advantage of it as much as possible. Having access to the manor was vital to her mission and she even managed to sleep there a few times when she couldn't get away without being seen.

She marked down everything she witnessed, taking her findings home for a more thorough look through for any patterns that were odd or possibly damning, but so far he was clean as Merlin's knickers and she had nothing.

She did, however, have a very good idea of why Draco divorced his wife. She was an idiot. You learned a lot about people when you watched them like, take Abby for instance. The little girl had a thing for strawberry ice cream. She would rather have strawberry ice cream than anything else and the little house elf, Cuppy, would bring her a small bowl every night after she was put to sleep.

Draco's ex-wife, she learned, had custody of Abby. Why the Ministry would put a child in the arms of a woman like her was anyone's guess. The woman was a sweet woman to Abby, but a danger to her health. Hermione had watched on several occasions where Abby could have been seriously injured or killed even because of her mother's flightiness. Luckily, the elves were always around to make sure Abby was safe.

Hermione looked down at her watch and decided to call it a day. Draco and Abby had been playing for hours and she knew Abby would be going home with her mother soon enough as it wasn't Draco's night to have her.

She shrunk down her little muggle pad and pen and tucked them into her pocket before walking to the edge of the grounds and apparating home for the evening.

Ooooooooooo

"Have you found anything on him yet?"

Hermione tossed the note pad onto the coffee table towards her boss and sat down on the couch.

"So far nothing." She started, "But I still have to get into Gringgotts and figure out what he is doing with that other house."

Her boss nodded and tossed her a pack of cigarettes. It was a nasty little habit she had picked up and while it was bad for her health, it was good for her nerves so the risk of lung cancer was unimportant.

"Do you think he is dark?" her boss asked

"Not from what I can tell… pity too because it would have done my heart good to kill this one." She muttered after exhaling the smoke.

Her boss chuckled lightly, "You're a tough one."

"I have to be." She said simply. And that part was true. If she had not trained herself emotionally to be distant and slightly sadistic, the world would have eaten her alive within a very short amount of time.

Her boss rose from the chair and sighed, "Report to me next week and let me know what else you find."

Hermione nodded but didn't reply and her boss took that for his dismissal. He walked to the door with a slight shake to his head. She was a sad case in his opinion, a case that he doubted could ever be changed. He was slightly jaded himself, but he could never bring himself to kill someone unless it was in self defense and to see a young woman who once held so much promise, turn into a killer with no remorse was something he would never fully understand. He closed the door behind him and left the witch to herself, sitting on the couch in the dark with only the glow of the end of the cigarette visible.

The next morning, Hermione decided she needed a day to herself. She had been watching Malfoy for over a week without a break and she seriously needed time alone and to train a bit. She trained with a few select wizards that were of the darker nature and didn't go easy on her because she was a girl – it was sort of an underground thing that many of the normal witches and wizards had no clue existed.

The first thing on her list for the day was a run in a near by park. The park wasn't exactly a place where you would have picnics and bring your kids to play at, it was more or less abandoned due to a few woman getting attacked while running the trails. The park was, however, the perfect place for a run when you wanted to be alone and not bothered. The trails were overgrown for the most part, save for a few that people like her used, the bathroom facilities were filthy and the resting spots were in serious disarray but it fit her needs perfectly.

She slipped on her jogging pants and shirt, they were both plain gray, and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. She then slipped on her trainers and took off out the door, heading towards the park for her 3 mile run.

The first mile and a half went smoothly. She hadn't encountered a single person or animal, nor had she reached any trails that were to far gone to be used. The second mile and a half she found herself less fortunate.

She had just rounded a large oak tree when the sight of a blond haired man caught her attention. She knew whom the hair belonged to instantly and groaned, even on her day off she was faced with Malfoy. She continued to run, not slowing or paying him any attention in the least, hoping he would just let her go by without mention… She wasn't that lucky.

"Hey Granger!" He yelled as he ran behind her.

She didn't stop or even act like she heard him but she did pick up her pace a bit.

"GRANGER!" He yelled a bit louder and from directly behind her.

She sighed but didn't stop running, "What do you want Malfoy?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Don't sound so excited to see me." He said cockily.

"Maybe because I'm not." She replied, "Now if you don't mind, I would like to run in peace."

Draco didn't answer but continued to run beside her despite her cold reaction towards him.

"Potters getting divorced from the Weasley girl." He said out of the blue

'Why was he telling her this? She didn't care.'

"And I care why?" She asked

"He was one of your mates, I just figured you'd like to know."

"Well, I don't need to know, nor do I care so save your petty small talk for someone who does."

"Harsh, Granger, harsh."

Hermione just rolled her eyes and kept going, maybe if she ignored him, he would go away.

"Are you married? Have kids?" he asked.

She gave him the death glare and continued on, not answering his question.

"Come on Granger, You've been watching every move I make for a week now, you could at least answer my question."

She froze in place. How the hell did he know?

Draco smirked and stopped right next to her. He noticed her temporary flash of 'oh shit' but she quickly schooled that into a face of boredom.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Why in the hell would I follow you?"

"Tsk, tsk, Lying will get you nowhere." He said in a sing song voice.

"I'm not lying, now if you will please, please leave me the fuck alone, I can finish my run and go home for the day."

Draco paused and looked at her closely. The girl from school was completely gone, replaced by a girl who didn't seem to care if she actually took another breath.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked.

"Nothing happened to me Malfoy. People grow up and move on." And with that she started running again.

"Hey, you never answered my question!" he yelled as he started running after her again.

Hermione broke into a full out run, jumping over some of the slightly larger rocks and a clearing the fallen trees like hurdles. She was getting winded but refused to stop running. She made it about 1500 feet when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by one angry Draco Malfoy.

"I wasn't fucking playing, Granger. I was trying to be nice but now you've gone and pissed me off. Why the fuck are you watching me?"

He gripped her by the shoulders and lifted his body a bit so he could turn her over. He wanted to look into her eyes so he could tell whether she was being truthful or not.

"I haven't been watching you Malfoy." She stated again, not changing the hitch in her voice one bit.

Draco growled and put his hands close to her neck. He would never normally hurt a female but he had been suspecting that his ex wife was trying to keep him away from Abby and maybe having Hermione follow him, looking for something she could present to the ministry. His hands slipped around her neck and he leaned his face close to hers.

"If my bitch of an ex wife is having me followed to take my daughter from me, I guarantee I will kill you right here and no one would ever find your body."

Hermione smiled at him. It was disturbing to him that she would actually smile when he was threatening to strangle the life out of her.

Her hands slipped over his, but instead of pulling his hands from her neck, she made his hands tighten. The smile never left her face as her eyes looked right into his.

"Do it." She said simply, "Finish what your bastard of a father didn't… come on or are you too much of a pussy as well."

He ignored her rant, "Are you following me because of my ex?" he growled.

She grew silent for a second before she answered.

"I have never met her, nor has she ever contacted me. I am not a fucking private investigator nor do I care to be. Now, if you are going to kill me, do it now or get the hell off of me before I do something _you _will regret."

The coldness in her voice, the lack of motion she held, the fearlessness she displayed when faced with death was something he had never seen in a woman, much less one her age.

He moved his hands from her neck and stood, offering her his hand to help her up. She looked at the offered hand and smacked it away before she pulled herself from the ground.

"Are we done here?" she asked, "Or are you going to tackle me again?"

"Why are you following me? And what did you mean by finish what my father didn't?" he asked, now more confused then ever.

Hermione just grinned, "I'm not following you and I'm sure if you search hard enough in your fathers study, you'll find out first hand what I'm referring to."

She then started running through the thick trees once again. She knew he would try to find out what happened, it was regarding his father so naturally his curiosity would be peaked. She didn't care if he found out. The ministry kept it all secret and the people who she thought would care, didn't, so what did it matter.

She finally made it out of the park and headed back to her house, deciding it would not be a good day for training after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Vigilo Oculus, It was so easy, so simple, yet Malfoy Manor had the damn charm that she didn't even think to look for

Vigilo Oculus, It was so easy, so simple, yet Malfoy Manor had the damn charm that she didn't even think to look for. She figured she had lost her knack as her last targets were, well… simple minded and being that the charm was old and very seldom used, most didn't take the time to look up that particular charm, therefore, she never looked for it when breaking wards.

Vigilo Oculus was one of the first things she was taught during training and she felt dumb as hell for over looking it. Her simple mistake almost blew her cover and she still wasn't totally sure it hadn't but Malfoy gave up easy enough and he would damn sure never know she was watching again.

She checked her appearance in the cracked mirror once again to make sure her glamour's were holding well and to make sure she was not recognizable. Malfoy was due to meet someone in thirty minutes at a near by pub and she wanted to know why the meeting was so hush, hush. It could be something she could use against him.

Fifteen minutes later, Hermione found herself at the pub, perched on a stool in a central location. She would be able to see Malfoy no matter where he sat and thanks to her early arrival, she was able to charm each table so she could hear the conversations and easily end the charms on tables she wasn't interested in.

"What can I get you?" The short, grubby bartender asked.

"Vodka – straight" she ordered, ignoring the look of mild shock on the bartenders face.

The bartender cleared his throat, "Is the lady sure she doesn't want something a little more… mild?"

Hermione fixed the man with a death glare and she internally laughed when he yelped a bit and walked away.

The drink came quickly and the bartender smirked, fully expecting her to sip it and gag but when she smirked and threw the shot back, keeping a straight face, the man nodded and got her a second.

"You win." He said with a laugh and left the witch to herself.

She looked down to her watch and sighed, Malfoy and whom ever he was meeting were 3 minutes late… she hated when people were late. She waited another twenty, swallowed down her third shot and started to stand to leave when the door opened and Draco walked in.

"Thought you had enough?" The bartender asked.

"Nope, butt fell asleep, just needed to adjust a bit." She answered and ordered another.

Oooooo

"I'm serious!" Draco whispered to the tall, dark man that sat across from him, "I want you to watch her and tell me if you notice anything."

"Mr. Malfoy, Hermione Granger is no threat to you. She has a bad reputation, no one respects her, and no one would ever take her word over yours… If your ex did hire her, she did a sorry job at finding someone who is reputable."

Draco sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, "Then explain why she was at Malfoy Manor under a disillusionment charm, watching every move I made."

"Envy, possibly? With a witch like Granger, there is no telling." The man shrugged and took a sip of his scotch, "I cant even tell you why she actually has a job in the first place, she was black listed everywhere."

Hermione snorted into her glass, Envy? Like hell.

"I want her watched, I want you to follow her regardless of what you think she is or isn't capable of… I have a daughter to protect and if she is on some hell bent mission for revenge or trying to give my ex a reason to keep my daughter from me, I want to know immediately."

"Mr. Malfoy, I have to ask. Why would she want revenge on you?"

Draco looked to his glass and swirled the liquid around, watching it as it raised on the sides in a smooth motion, "I'm still searching but she mentioned that my father did something to her but didn't go into details. I just have a feeling that if my father was involved, it wasn't a good situation for her."

The man nodded, "From what I understand, your father held her prisoner for months until she was found after Harry Potter defeated, you-know-who."

Draco looked up, that was something he didn't know.

"Do you know anything else about it?"

"Nothing. The ministry sealed the records tighter then anything I've ever seen before. Merlin himself couldn't get into them even if he managed to find them."

Oooooooooo

Hermione left the pub shortly after Malfoy and the man did. She didn't know whom the man was but her newest mission was to find out, play with his memories a bit and send him on his way without a clue. If the man followed her at all, she would have to put herself under constant glamour unless she wasn't up to anything and she would have to be even more careful on the Malfoy case then she normally would … she didn't want the stress.

She didn't go home but instead went straight to her office at the Ministry. She would be able to find out who the man was easily thanks to the glass she swiped with his slobber all over it. The man would need to be handled quickly before he had a chance to tell anyone about what he was up to.

Oooooooooo

Draco went back into his father's study, a place he didn't visit unless absolutely necessary. The place itself held memories that he would rather not relive and the very idea of what took place inside the four walls made his stomach churn.

Meetings with deatheaters, plans to kill innocent people, Voldemort, himself even made visits in the damn study, nope, not a place he wanted to spend gobs of time in. He had already searched through the desk, the books, the hidden panel that he knew about and turned up nothing. He briefly wondered if she had said those things to throw him off, but then again, Jenkins told him there was some history between his father and Granger so there had to be something.

He searched for another hour, lifting rugs, moving furniture, everything he could think of until he finally threatened all the portraits in the room, hoping one would crack and spill the beans – it didn't happen. The portraits either sneered at him, yelled at him or even had the gull to laugh at him and all flat out refused to say a word about Lucius.

In total frustration, he kicked the old oak chair that Lucius had used for punishment when Draco was younger. The chair was uncomfortable to sit in, hard as a rock and did a number on the occupant backside, young or old, the chair hurt everyone.

When the chair toppled over, the hard seat flapped and closed again. Since when did chairs flap? He walked over, stood the chair back up and fiddled with the seat for a moment before finding a small, brass latch on the underside. He lifted the seat slowly and found a small black book with gold letters HG on the cover.

"This has to be it." He muttered to himself as he walked over to the chair that his father used to sit in and started reading.

Hours, he spent hours combing through the pages of the journal. He knew his father had two sides. One side he displayed to the public. He was arrogant but kept his appearance on the good side so he would remain on the board of Governors and a person of some authority in the wizarding world. The other side was the deatheater side. He was malicious and did whatever he had to do to keep in the favor of Voldemort.

He knew Lucius could be violent, not so much to him and his mother, but to those he was against such as Granger, he could be a down right cruel bastard.

The things he was reading were things he never even imagined his father doing, despite what he was and whom he was serving. The things his father had described were monstrous, more so then anything he had ever witnessed and he understood why Granger would be so jaded… but it still didn't make sense.

He continued to flip through the pages, hoping to find something that would explain why she was so hated today. One would think that she would have been coddled and given a great deal of sympathy, not hated and treated as a leper.

17 October

_The Mudblood screamed for hours today. I was amusing to watch as she lost control of her bodily functions and didn't show an ounce of embarrassment. I would have thought she would have cracked by now, but she continues to keep tight-lipped about Potters location and continues to take the torture instead… Only a Gryffindor._

Draco shook his head and flipped the page. So far he had read about her reactions but not about the methods his father used to bring her to those things.

24 October

_Her skin is burned due to lying in her own urine for days. I would have left her longer but the smell was becoming putrid and I couldn't stomach to even go near her cell. The elves cleaned her up and her cell, but her bath was less then pleasant as I had the elves bathe her in lemon juice. She cried the entire time and didn't even waste her normal glare in my direction as they scrubbed her skin raw._

Draco flipped the page again, he had enough of October 24th, thank you very much.

1 November

_I allowed her to heal a bit since my last entry, as she was becoming less enjoyable the weaker she became. The Dark Lord is pleased with my treatment and has even encouraged me to take it up a notch in order to get her to talk._

Flip, flip, flip

5 November

_Who would have thought a dirty Mudblood could feel so good. I did my ego well to watch the fight drain out of her as I took her innocence. I would have thought the Weasley brat or Potter would have gotten there first but alas, that pleasure was mine. I of course had to bathe very well afterwards but…_

"What the hell?" Draco almost yelled, "Years I listened to him drone on about never being with anyone less the pureblood, yet he goes to the lowest of the line."

Draco couldn't read anymore. There was nothing explaining why she was treated so badly after she was found and he honestly didn't feel like reading about the things his father had done to find out. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for her but he would still do whatever it took to stop her if she were trying to get back at him or his daughter for the things his Father had done.

He did, however, want answers and if going to Potter was the only way to get them, he would. He pulled out a quill and parchment and wrote out a quick letter to Harry. He wanted to know and he wanted to know now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I ignored a few deaths in this story, FYI

A/N: I ignored a few deaths in this story, FYI

Harry Potter had reached a low in his life. The days of hero worship continued, but he would rather it didn't. He hated the fact that his life was always so public, he hated being watched by everyone and being the topic of children's bedtime stories through out the wizarding world. All he wanted was a normal life, away from everything, everyone, including his annoying, gold digging wife.

He had it made once the dust had settled. He had Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasleys. He felt part of a family for the first time in his life and while Molly, Arthur and the twins stayed relatively down to earth, Ginny had become the poster child for wonder witch.

She paraded herself around like she was the queen of everything, muggle or wizard, and drug Harry through the motions with her. She would always stop to talk to the press as if she were the one who took out Voldemort herself and ignored Harry as he tried to pull her away. She seemed to be in her element as she flaunted the fact that she was now Ginny Potter and the press loved her because she would tell all and hold nothing back.

The arguments started off small enough. She would promise to keep their personal life a bit more discrete and that would be the end of it, but a week later she would be up to her old tricks and telling more about them then Harry wanted known.

He had dealt with it as long as he could but in the end, he couldn't handle it and asked for divorce. Ginny, of course, threw a royal fit and drug all the Weasleys into the middle of it, causing the family to either side with her or side with him.

He found himself staying at the leaky cauldron, enjoying the peace he found there… well, until he received a very vague letter from Draco Malfoy, a person he hadn't muttered two words to in years.

The letter was short, sweet, and to the point. Malfoy wanted to arrange a time and place to meet to discuss Hermione, a person he had tried very, very hard to erase from his memories and thoughts for years. He had put her firmly in the back of his mind, never thinking about her until something would remind him of the people that had been lost in the war or when someone would mention her name. He ignored her when she was around or would give her the look that said 'I want nothing to do with you' every chance he got. It was only fair after everything she had done.

His first reaction was to crumple the paper up and toss it, pretending he never received it but then his curiosity got the best of him. Why would Draco Malfoy want information on the woman that ruined many, many lives and damn near cost him his as well? It was something he wanted to know, so a meeting was arranged.

Ooooooooooo

Hermione was irritated. Jenkins was someone she initially thought would cause her a hoard of trouble but after a little research, Jenkins turned out to be no better off then she was with the exception of being less hated and less well known.

She hated that she was going to have to put energy into a man who more then likely only agreed to watch her in order to line his pockets a bit better.

The task only took a few minutes to complete and as far as Jenkins was concerned, Hermione Granger was just living her life, day by day, doing what she had to do to survive. He also walked away thinking she was too involved with work to pay the slightest bit of attention to Malfoy, his marriage or his daughter.

Now she sat in the Leaky Cauldron, glamour in place, waiting for another meeting. She didn't know whom this one was with but the determination on Malfoys face was to interesting to pass up.

She sat towards the back, casting the same charm as she had done before and waited patiently for them to arrive – she hoped they weren't going to be late again, she wanted to just go home and rest.

At the arranged time, Draco walked in and sat down. He looked like he was uncomfortable and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. It made her almost giddy when she noticed someone out of their comfort zone, it showed them what she felt like every time she set foot out in public.

She took a swig of her water, deciding to go light that night and almost spit it out all over the table when Harry walked in and slid into the chair across from Draco. She quickly activated the charm and settled in to listen to what she hoped would be a productive conversation.

Ooooooooo

"Potter." Draco greeted with a nod.

Harry nodded back and ordered a drink. He too was uncomfortable and Hermione was enjoying it.

"What did you want to discuss about Granger." Harry said in a tired voice.

Draco shook his head, he had never heard Harry refer to her as Granger before and it shook him a little the way he said it, as if her name left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"Well" Draco started in an awkward voice, "I want to know what happened between you? I want to know why she is treated so badly these days."

Harry raised an eyebrow, Why the hell would Malfoy care about something like that?

"Are you telling me you have no idea?" Harry asked

Draco shrugged, "I've heard rumors but I want to hear it straight from the main source."

"Why would you even want to know? Hermione Granger is a despicable person that deserves everything she gets and more."

Hermione tried to act like his words didn't effect her but even after all these years, the words were like pouring salt into an open wound and it stung…a lot.

"Lets just say that I believe she is after something involving me and I need to know her possible motives in order to protect myself and my daughter."

Harry took a swig of his drink and sat it down.

"Hermione Granger is treated the way she is because she betrayed me. She ratted out my location to Voldemort, catching me off guard and ended up being the main reason we lost so many people that night."

Draco frowned, "Surely you can't be serious?"

"Look, Malfoy, I don't like to talk about her, I don't like to think about her and I sure as hell don't want to remember what she caused, but I'm telling you the truth."

Draco just shook his head.

"Malfoy, we were happy when she was found alive. We celebrated for days until it was revealed that she was the cause of everything that happened. I don't know why she gave in and I really don't care, but it was apparent that her need for real food and fresh water were more important then the lives of everyone we had lost. The simple fact of the matter is she should have fought harder, she should have been willing to die just as I was for this and she should have kept her secrets, secret."

Draco looked at Harry as if he was a moron. Did Potter not know anything? Did he expect her to be another him? Did he actually think Hermione spilled the beans for food and water?

"That's a little harsh considering what she had been through."

Harry just waved his hand in a dismissive way, "I would have died before ratting out my friends. In my opinion, she is no better then Peter Petigrew."

Those words were a slap to her face. Peter Petigrew? She would have rather died then to tell Lucius or Voldemort where Harry was but dying wasn't an option for her. She had begged for it, pleaded for them to just kill her but they refused – torture was way more fun for them.

Hermione finished off her water and left the leaky cauldron, ignoring the slight sting of tears in her eyes, she didn't want to hear anymore, she didn't need to be reminded of Harrys hatred anymore then she already had. She had walked right by their table when she left, not once looking at either male and trying to just get the hell out of there.

"Do you even have a fucking clue?" Draco asked, "Don't get me wrong, I am not a Hermione Granger fan but even I can sympathize for her for what she had gone through."

Harry shrugged, "So she lost her ability to have children because of your father. I understand how that would probably effect a woman but she could have always adopted."

"Is that all you think that happened?"

Harry shrugged, "That was all she ever told us."

Draco was getting a migraine. Harry Potter was either in the dark more so then he had thought or was a complete bastard.

Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the small journal. He looked at it before sliding it across the table towards Harry.

"I found this in my fathers study. I think you should sit down and give it a good read through, for your own sake."

Draco then stood from the table, nodded to Harry once more and walked away. Harry couldn't tell him anything useful.

0000000000000000

To anyone looking towards Hermione flat, they would think that no one was home. Not a single light burned, not a single thing moved except for the hand that raised and put the cigarette up to her mouth and pulled it away again.

Her small bowl of soup sat on the kitchen cabinet, cold, untouched and alone, just like she was doing right now, on the floor and propped up against the wall.

She went through the motions. She would breath in, then out. She would inhale, then exhale, both things were signs of life but inside, she was as dead as they got.

Harry's words had effected her more then she ever thought they would. She knew it shouldn't bother her, not after everything she had gone through, but Harry was different.

He had been her friend since the age of eleven. They had grown up together, fought Voldemort together, and even lived together for seven years, and to hear those hurtful words coming from the mouth of someone you once loved as much as you would love your own blood relative, well, no words would describe how much it hurt.

She had become the person she was in order to protect herself. It was a sort of self defense mechanism for the mind but she learned a short few hours ago that something's are harder to ignore then others.

She snuffed the well-smoked cigarette out on the floor and instantly grabbed for another. Her nerves were jumpy, her mind blank, and the only thing she could process was to light the match, put it to the end of the cigarette, and suck in deeply, filling her lungs with the chemicals that would hopefully cut her life shorter then she already wished for.

Hermione was in pain, it was well hidden, but it was still there, nagging at her and telling her that despite her best efforts, she could still feel and that was the last damned thing she wanted or needed.

This whole Malfoy case seemed to be a project she would enjoy, but it was turning out to be her worst nightmare. She had yet to find anything that would sway her into eliminating him, her target in question was now digging for information on her, and this whole thing of just watching and making a decision was turning out to be a lot harder then she thought.

As she snuffed out the last cigarette in her pack, she slowly rose from the floor and made her way to bed. She needed to talk to one of her trainers and fix this whole… feelings and emotions thing before it got out of hand and effected her job.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I know, I know, update my other stories. I am working on them but I already have a few more chapters of this story written due to my lack of access to the net when I moved and I do not save the posted chapters on my comp as it slows it down, so I couldn't review my other stories to write for them. I have three more chapters written for this story so I will be posting one chapter a day for the next three days. I should also let you know that this chapter has a bit of a twist to it so keep with me as in the next few chapters, the story line picks up a bit and as they say, the plot thickens.

* * *

Harry looked at the small journal for almost an hour before he worked himself up enough to actually open the first page. The cover itself looked like it had been opened a million times before. The well-defined crease proved that the journal was actually used a lot, but he still wasn't sure he wanted to know what was inside.

His finger traced the gold initials that he knew stood for one person, the person he hated more than anyone, including his gold digging wife. He still didn't understand why Draco was so curious about Hermione's treatment, but he had a feeling the answers were inside the journal and he secretly dreaded what he would possibly find inside.

He fixed his reserve, opened the damn book to the first page and began reading. He would figure out Draco's curiosity one way or another.

* * *

Hermione ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at the small bottle of potion, courtesy of one of her trainers. The potion itself smelled pleasant enough but the more she thought about the effects, the more she hesitated on drinking it.

Her night did not go as well as she hoped. She eventually managed to sleep but it was short lived and only happened in fifteen-minute spurts. Every time she closed her eyes, Harry was standing over her, his face screwed up in complete rage as he cast her from his life. The words came back to her in complete clarity, reminding her that the life she once had was now gone.

Sleep was another one of those things that were normally seen in black and white, much like betrayal. Black was typically for nightmares and white was for pleasant or undisturbed sleep, but again, Hermione only had gray.

Her sleep used to fall into the white area, but that was so long ago that she had forgotten what it was like. She had only experienced the black here and there, but again, nothing she could dream up could compare to anything that she dealt with while awake so that left her in the gray.

They gray area was funny. The dreams you had weren't fluffy clouds and bunnies or mutant bats and serial killers, they were more like a mix of reality and fantasy and they almost always left you with an empty feeling when you woke up. They made you hate to sleep, made you hate to wake up, but unfortunately the human body had requirements whether you liked it or not and you got what you got the second yours eyes closed. Hermione had learned to deal with them but some nights were harder then others and that was the night Hermione had.

"Make the decision, Hermione." She muttered to herself as she picked up the small bottle.

One bottle, one little bottle at that, would take her memories away forever. There would be no more Harry, no more Ron, and certainly no more Lucius, but was it worth it?

The potion was designed specifically for the people involved with the program she was in. Snape had created it, but was not informed of why the ministry would need something like it. It was essentially a potion that cleared out the drinker's memories while only retaining the information pertaining to the job. The idea behind it was good, but it did not discriminate between good and bad memories and she wasn't sure she wanted to lose the precious few she had.

She wasn't sure she wanted to be turned into an emotionless robot who's only thoughts were eat, drink, sleep, and kill so she had to make her choice and make it quick.

* * *

Harry had not slept one ounce. The decision to open that damned, Merlin forsaken book, ruined any chance that he would set it down and crawl into his lumpy bed for sleep.

The first twenty pages were rough, but he pushed through. They had only talked about refusing her food and water and mentioned minor torture, but nothing he didn't think she could handle. Page 21, was when things started to get ugly and Harry became addicted to the damned book.

He had to admit, things were not pleasant for Hermione, but she was strong and he felt she could have held out longer, that was until he reached the entry on page 27.

_How amusing it is to watch the young mudblood beg. She came here, tight lipped and refusing to talk but now, now she begs for me to give her death or to let her go… neither will happen for her._

_The potter brat did very well in finding someone like Granger to cling to. She is loyal, stupidly loyal, in my opinion, and actually told me to.. what where those words again? fuck off??_

_She is a feisty one, but I will break her. She may hold Potters secrets but she cant hid them forever._

That was the page that initially made him rethink his treatment of her, maybe he was a bit harsh with her, but it still didn't bring anyone they had lost back.

Two hours later, he reached a part of the journal that would most likely make her three months into Lucius' care. He had to wipe his hands on his bed to rid them of the moisture, crack his neck to keep the fluid moving through his spinal cord and the deeper he got into the book, the more he took up activities like pacing and even growling.

* * *

She picked up the small bottle once again, warming the thick orange liquid in her hand as she continued to weigh her options. She could forget it all, all the biting words, all the painful memories, all the angry faces but she would also lose the few precious memories she retained that reminded her that she was human.

But were they important? The way her life was, she was practically a robot already, so would it matter if she killed the rest of it? Would she miss it?

She pulled the stopper of the bottle and raised it to her face. It was so simple, so easy, but it was the coward's way out and in the end, she poured the orange liquid down the sink drain, keeping her memories, both good and bad.

It only took her an hour after pouring the potion out for her to pull herself together and head to her office. She planned on visiting the house that was being remodeled but needed a few things to prepare for her little outing.

She made it to her office, kicked off her shoes and reached into the drawer that contained the file on Malfoy… it wasn't there. She pulled the drawer out, lifted the other files and searched through them, one by one, panicking that the file had gone missing.

"You wont find it." A voice said from the doorway.

Hermione jerked her head up and looked into the dark blue eyes of George.

"Why not? I wasn't finished with him." She retorted

George came into her office and warded the door. He placed a silencing charm around the room and took his normal chair.

"They have called off the Malfoy inquiry." He stated calmly, "For some reason they feel that he is no longer a threat."

Hermione groaned, this was the second time they retracted a case due to not finding any evidence and not wanting to tie up their people when there was someone else that needed to be watched.

"So I assume I am already assigned a new subject?"

George nodded and pulled a file from inside his robes. He smirked again, but this time there was something in his smirk that gave her the chills.

"You will still be dealing with the Malfoys but this time you are dealing with Alexia Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's ex wife."

Hermione could do nothing but shake her head. The Ministry must be really bored to think a woman of Alexia Malfoy's brain capacity could be up to anything other then yelling about a dress that may have made her ass look too big.

"Are you serious? The woman is as dumb as a box of rocks, why would they suspect her?"

George took a deep breath.

"A file showed up about her, one that had an immediate effect on the Ministry. Alexia Malfoy is actually highly intelligent but is hiding that fact from everyone, including her ex husband. We don't know the full details on the woman but we know that her N.E.W.T scores were very high and she has been meeting with some rather… unsavory characters."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh, so the Ministry suspected the woman to be up to something because she hid her intelligence? And what was the deal with unsavory people? Did they mean people like her?

"I… don't know what to think about this one but I'll look over the file and see what I can come up with."

* * *

It had been seven hours since he began reading the book, and one since he had finished, but he still sat on the edge of the bed, unmoving, unthinking, and just barely holding onto the rage he felt, not only towards Lucius Malfoy, but himself as well.

He realized now that he had been so wrapped up in himself and the losses he had felt, that he didn't take into consideration that anyone else had lost anything compared to him. He never really asked her what happened, never gave her the chance to explain, and now he realized that had he done so, he may not have lost one of the people that cared for him more then anyone.

He couldn't imagine what it was like for her, being raped, and abused both physically and mentally while trying to keep a secret to protect someone else. The journal would probably give him nightmares for years to come but it was the last entry that bothered him the most, the entry that would stick in his mind for the rest of his life and nothing would ever erase it.

He opened the journal to the last page once again and despite his mind screaming at him to stop, he began to read the last entry.

_Victory is sweet. I shall inform the Dark Lord of Potters whereabouts come morning and will be rewarded greatly for my efforts in completing my task. I must admit, the mudblood took more for team Potter then most in her position would have and despite her wishes for death, I will not give it to her. The mudblood is mine now, I will ask for her as a reward so I can continue to use her as I see fit._

The entry was longer but that was as far as he needed to read. The sentence 'took more for team Potter then most' was his final undoing considering he spent years hating her for not doing enough. He slid the book under his matress and climbed in to get some rest… if he could.


	7. Chapter 7

Two weeks later…

It had been a long two weeks for Hermione. She had been watching Malfoy's ex-wife since receiving the file and she finally had to agree with the Ministry that the woman was up to something. It started out rather boring. Alexia would play perfect mum to Abby in public and in front of Malfoy, but the nights she left Abby with Draco were the nights that brought the real woman out.

Hermione had learned that Alexia Malfoy was indeed, very intelligent, almost scary intelligent at times. She would read for hours, marking pages in books on rituals. She would study potion ingredients, learn them, smell them, and taste them. It was as if she was trying to memorize them in every way possible and Hermione couldn't help but find it a bit odd.

She would also visit different manors staying anywhere from and hour to all night and by watching, it seemed as if the woman hardly slept. Alexia Malfoy, she discovered, had loads of odd habits, some explainable, some not, but Hermione was sure the woman would need to be eliminated.

Ooooooooooooooooo

"Can I talk to you?" A voice called from behind Hermione.

Hermione froze momentarily at the sound of Harrys voice but quickly began to walk again, ignoring the man following behind her.

"Five minutes… that all I want." He said.

Hermione whipped around, barely controlling the anger she felt. How dare he ask for her time when he couldn't spare a second of his a few years ago.

"For what?" She asked coldly.

Harry raised his hand in surrender, "I just… I just want to talk about a few things in private."

She didn't want to, she really didn't, but the motto was know thy enemy and despite their past, he was her enemy.

"Fine, five minutes." She replied and started walking towards her office with Harry close behind.

Once they had arrived, Hermione told Harry to wait outside for a minute. She didn't give him an explanation but then again, he didn't ask. She went inside her office and closed the door. She checked around to make sure that there was nothing that would give her away, then started placing various items around to make her look more… secretarial.

"Come in" she called from the office.

Harry walked in slowly and took the seat, George's seat, which she had pointed to.

"Your time starts now." She said as she leaned back.

Harry nodded and seemed to just sit there for a minute before he raised his eyes to look at her.

"I didn't know everything... you know, about what happened."

Hermione shrugged, "You didn't ask."

"You could have said something… I would have listened." He replied

Hermione snorted, "In case you forgot, Potter, I tried to tell you the reason, I tried to explain it to you but you wouldn't listen. You yelled, called me every name in the book and practically tossed me into the street on my ass."

"Look, I didn't come to fight. I came to apologize." Harry stated.

"Apology accepted, now if you are finished, you may leave as I have work to do."

Harry didn't budge but instead looked up to her, "So, can we try this friendship thing again? I mean, we were good friends at one time and i just think we could start over."

Hermione grew silent for a moment before giving him her answer.

"No, I don't have, nor need friends, so if you don't mind, I would like to get back to work."

Harry stood from his chair, "What do you want from me? I'm trying to right a wrong but you won't give me the time of day."

Hermione waved her hand, silently putting up a silencing charm.

"Why in the hell should I care? You thing you can just waltz in here after everything, ask for my forgiveness and that be the end of it?"

Harry went to open his mouth to reply but before a single word could pass his lips, she smacked her hands down on her desk and stood.

"I gave up everything for you, Harry." She started, "I stuck by you through thick and thin, day after day during school I helped you, encouraged you, cared for you and even loved you… but what did I get? A smack in the face as if I were a total stranger that pissed on your shoes."

"I loved you like a brother, Harry. I would have gladly died to protect you and I tried, by Merlin I lowered my self-esteem and begged for death, I gave up my pride and begged a man to kill me in order to protect you."

She let out a small, almost psychotic laugh, "I was tortured, forced to sleep in my own urine until my skin was burned, I had blisters and open sores that were scrubed with everything from lemon juice to alchol. I was cursed with the Cruciatus curse on a daily basis, raped repeatedly, and many more things that would make your hair curl…and what did I get? I got myself fucking abandoned by the people I tried to protect. I got tossed out on the street without a place to go, black listed from jobs, places to live and even stores. Mothers pull their children away from me like I'm going to eat them or curse them and you ask if we can start over?"

"We didn't –"

"Of course you didn't." She yelled, "You never took the time to ask what happened, how I was feeling… You were so wrapped up in yourself that you didn't stop to think about what I was going through."

She walked around toward his chair and leaned against the wall, "Do you have any idea what it is like to have a man you cannot stand, force his self between your legs and take your innocence? pound into you putting his bodily fluids inside your body then taking your abilty to have children away because you are not worthy to have a child by them? Do you have any idea what it is like to have said man, insult you while he fucks you, calling you vile names and treating your body as if it didn't feel pain?"

Harry just sat there, looking down to the ground. He hated reading what happened to her but to hear her actually say it, it made him want to vomit.

"I do, Harry, and I put up with it to protect you."

"I didn't know." Harry yelled back, his chest heaving just as hard as hers was.

Hermione leaned over towards him, her face only inches from his.

"You didn't deserve to know. You don't deserve to know now and yet you do. As far as I am concerned, you, Harry Potter, are as dead to me as I was dead to you when I needed you the most. Now, apology accepted so leave my office."

Harry raised his hands once again in defeat and walked to the door.

"If I could take it all back, I would in a heart beat." He stated before walking out the door, hiding the single tear that fell from his eye as he realized the old Hermione was gone and he was one of the main causes.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Three weeks later….

Hermione walked to a closet that was only used for one thing… weapons. Yes, she could easily pull her wand and say two little words that would end Alexia Malfoy, but it was so much easier to make it look like a crime, suicide or natural causes when it involved someone with status. Less questions from the press and such.

A mugging? Random stabbing? The choices were endless but Hermione decided to go with her favorite way of killing. It was painless, no blood was shed, and it was untraceable considering once it entered the body, the liver absorbed it and neutralized it. Anyone who examined the body would claim it as unspecified or natural cause and that would be the end of it.

She pulled out the syringe filled with the thick black liquid and checked it to make sure the proper dose was loaded for a woman of Alexias' small stature.

She then tucked it into her black, military style pants after making sure the stopper was properly engaged, pulled her hair into a tight bun to avoid hair pulling if Alexia decided to go that route and headed out the door.

She always walked when she was about to do an assassination. Yes, her magical signature could be covered, yes, the ministry would protect her if it came to that, but walking was just easier and allowed her to clear her mind and mentally prepare for the task at hand.

Three blocks down, twelve to go and on the fourth block, she was slammed against the wall hard, knocking the air from her lungs before she even had a chance to react.

"Where the fuck is she?" A voice seethed.

She knew that voice but what the hell was Malfoy talking about.

"Who?" Hermione wheezed out.

"Who the fuck do you think? Abby and Alexia are missing?"

Hermione's eyes went wide, Where the hell did that woman get to? she was at the Manor two days ago.

"I have no idea." She coughed, trying to get the air to enter her lungs once again.

The hand around her neck grew tighter.

"I warned you." He hissed, "Woman or not, no one messes with Abby."

"I don't know where she is Malfoy."

Draco sneered and pulled Hermione to his chest before apparating them away.

They landed in the library of Malfoy Manor where Hermione was quickly bound and thrown onto the brown leather couch.

"You have one chance to make it out of this alive." Draco stated as he walked over towards the girl on the couch. He pulled out a small green bottle, tilted her chin, and forced the clear liquid down her throat.

"Do you know what I just gave you?"

Hermione nodded, "Truth serum"

"Very good, you haven't lost your brain cells after all."

Hermione sneered, "I wouldn't do this."

Draco looked down at his watch, "In less then a minute, you won't care what you say."

He felt bad in a way. This wasn't much different then what his father had done but at the same time, his daughter was missing and that was all he cared about.

"Are you Hermione Granger?" Draco asked to test if the potion had kicked in.

"Yes"

Good, it had kicked in. One word answers we always easier.

"Do you know where Abby is?"

"No"

"Were you following me at any time?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

Hermione tried to keep her mouth shut but it was impossible. She knew that because of this, Draco had not only signed his own death warrant but hers as well.

"Because the Ministry suspected you of trying to become another Voldemort."

"And where do you fit in?" he asked

"I was to kill you if you were."

Okay, he was not expecting that at all.

"What do you mean? Why would you kill me?"

Because…I'm an Assassin for the Ministry."

That floored Draco. Of all the answers he was expecting, that never even entered his mind.

"And was I to be killed?"

"No, you turned up clean." She answered

Draco looked down at the way she was dressed, " Are you on a mission now?"

"Yes"

God, he didn't realize he was just making things worse.

"Who?"

"Alexia Malfoy." Was all she said as the potion started to wear off.

Alexia Malfoy, his Alexia Malfoy… but why? He waited until the potion was completely worn off before slumping down on the couch next to her.

"She's an idiot… Why would the Ministry go after her?" He mumbled.

Hermione smirked, "Your idiot, is way smarter then you think."

Draco ignore her remark

"Why?"

"I really shouldn't tell you that, Malfoy, but as it stands now, you've already killed us both."

Draco head whipped around faster then she thought humanly possible

"What? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Lift my sleeve to my shoulder." She stated, "I've got a charm on me that alerts my boss when I've been subjected to any truth Serum. The mark should now be glowing red, which means I will be killed, as will you for giving me the potion."

Draco's eyes grew wide as he lifted the sleeve and just as she said, a small diamond mark was glowing red.

"You know, maybe I should tell you what I know." She said as she shifted slightly, "I've been watching Alexia for over a month now. I have discovered that Alexia Malfoy, who was Alexia Fisher when you married her, is really Alexia Fitzgerald. She used you for your money, your status, and your blood."

Draco cocked an eyebrow

"Or shall I say, she used you for your sperm as well."

Draco frowned at her, "What are you playing at?"

"I'm not playing at anything. Alexia is involved with a group of people that we have been watching for months. She has been involved with these people for years and you were the perfect pawn in their plan."

Hermione snorted, "I was trying to kill her before she could finish with her plan but thanks to your kidnapping and her disappearance, Abby is as good as dead."

Draco grabbed her by the arms painfully.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked while shaking her.

"A ritual." Hermione replied, "Alexia needed an innocent, pure blooded child. The ritual calls for the casters own blood in the form of pure innocence, which brings Abby into the mix. Everything was planned, you, the marriage, the pregnancy, everything and now that she has everything together, Abby has about a month to live."

Draco dropped his grip on Hermione, stood, and punched the closest wall he could find before dropping to his knees and letting out the most heart breaking sob she had ever heard.

"Thats my baby girl, my daughter." He cried, "I want her back."


	8. Chapter 8

'How could she

'_How could she?'_ Were the thoughts racing through his mind as he thought about the situation. If Hermione's words were true, his baby girl, his beautiful, happy, full of life, baby girl was about to be betrayed by the woman she loved the most in the most barbaric, cruel way imaginable.

He couldn't fathom it, He had fallen in love with Abby the second she was conceived and that grew to magnificent lengths the first time he saw her. Abby was the picture of innocence, so sweet, so loving,…so trusting. How a mother could actually give birth to a child, raise it and then kill it was beyond anything that he could understand… it was just so wrong.

He remembered the day she was born, the day the pink, blond haired baby came into his life and it brought a smile to his face. He had already planned how he would handle potential boyfriends, how they would celebrate when she was sorted into Slytherin, he even imagined the day that he would take her down and get her first wand… the plans were plenty but apparently the time was not.

"Granger." He rasped out from his spot on the floor.

He glanced to the couch, waved his wand and unbound her from her restraints.

Hermione had been watching for close to twenty minutes as a father wailed in pain at the idea of losing his daughter. She felt bad for him, way worse then she felt about anything in a long time and despite her reserves, her own withdrawal, she couldn't help but have the urge to comfort him.

Abby didn't deserve this. She was only a bit over two years old, looked to be a happy child and didn't deserve to be killed by her own mother… or anyone for that matter.

But it was too late. It had been almost thirty minutes since Malfoy had made her take that potion and she knew her partner would be there in a short amount of time to kill them both. There were other ways around it… a simple obliviate would do for Malfoy, but the fact of the matter was now the Ministry would not view her as capable, but easily thwarted, a risk, thus making her expendable.

They were as good as dead, Abby was as good as dead, and there wasn't a damn thing that could be done about it.

"Granger, you better fucking answer me and answer me now. Where the hell is Alexia hiding? You've been watching her, surely you know something."

"Malfoy, I have my suspicions of where she is, but its too late… we are as good as dead."

Draco was up quickly, rushing to the couch.

"I'm not ready to die yet. My daughter is out there and I will find her. If you want to sit here and let them kill you, so be it, but you better fucking tell me everything you know before you breath your last breath."

Hermione shook her head and dug around in her pants pocket. She pulled out the syringe and a small file folder.

"Fine, here's the folder, it will have plenty for you do go through and maybe you will see something that I didn't. I do know that the majority of the group are in an Estate near the North park, but that is all I know."

Draco quickly pulled the file and enlarged it.

"Not here you idiot." She hissed, "They will be here shortly if they aren't already. Take the damned file and go."

"And what about you?" he asked, "Are you just going to sit there and let them kill you?"

Hermione smirked and held up the syringe, "I won't give them the satisfaction. I'll do it myself."

Draco looked at her with a frown, "What the hell is that?"

"Just a little something that will kill me easily and painlessly… I'll simply go to sleep and that will be the end of things."

Draco started to respond but the sounds of the alarms that he had around the manor interrupted his train of thoughts. His wards were strong, they always were, but because of Abby, he had taken a few of the more dangerous ones down to protect her. The wards that were currently in place were strong enough to hold off a normal witch or wizard for a short time, but not a wizard that knew what he was doing when it came to getting in quickly. He briefly wondered if he could set them stronger but he knew by the different alarms that the person had already made it inside. He had been too caught up in the thoughts of Abby that he failed to respond when Granger first mentioned that someone would be coming for them.

"Come on, Granger, You do not need to die in this manor, you survived it once, you can do it again."

Hermione just sat back on the couch and pulled up her sleeve.

"And what? Run? The ministry would offer a reward for me faster then Ginny Weasley can swipe a muggle credit card and I would be given up quickly by anyone who sees me." She snorted, "There would probably be an all out search just to be named the one who caught the Granger bitch."

"We don't have time for this Granger, They are getting closer."

"Just go, Malfoy. You still have a chance and a reason… I don't. This is just how it is for me."

"You're a fool!" he shouted.

"I'm no fool, Malfoy, I'm realistic. I know that it is not worth running. This job was the only reason I was able to get a place, the only reason I'm not living on the streets and now I don't even have that. I have nowhere to go or anyone to go to… this is just how my life is."

Draco didn't know what to do. Part of him was saying to leave as quickly as possible but the other part was saying to grab her and make her go with him. He knew whatever decision he made would have to made quickly.

"Have it your way, Granger." He stated and held his hand out as to shake it.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and raised her hand to shake back and tell him good luck but when his hand tightened around hers and he pulled, she knew he was planning on taking her with him.

"Don't be stupid… They will be looking for me everywhere." She yelled as she pulled back as hard as she could to get her hand away from him.

Draco shrugged, "We will deal with that when the time comes." And with a quick flick of his wrist, Hermione was bound once again and tossed over his shoulder.

0000000000000

Harry had been in a deep funk since his meeting with Hermione a month earlier. The images she described for him were brutal and if he didn't know any better, he would think Voldemort was sending him nightmares again due to how real they were.

The way he saw it, he had three choices. He could forget about everything and move on. He could try again and work his ass off to get into her good graces, or he could go public with an announcement that she had been falsely accused and try to get her name restored through out the wizarding world, but the first thing was Ron.

Ron had moved on and married a woman named Susan. She looked a lot like Hermione but was dumb as they came, which made her the perfect woman for him.

They had two children and one on the way and seemed to be living in perfect bliss. Ron had everything he wanted but he still acted a bit funny whenever Hermione's name had been mentioned and Harry wanted to clear the air before he went public or tried to befriend her again because frankly, choice number one was not an option for him.

Ooooooooooooooooo

"You stupid, moronic, self absorbed ass." Hermione yelled as they landed in a small house that no one, not even the Ministry, knew about.

His father had gone through great lengths to make sure the place was available for emergency situations and the floo they had used to get there could not be accessed unless you were of Malfoy blood or escorted by a Malfoy.

"Your alive, Aren't you?"

"Not the point." She seethed and struggled with the bonds that were holding her. "You could have made this easy on yourself but now, now you've just gone and complicated things when Abby should be your first priority."

"Well, I wasn't going to just let you die. Besides, I may need you to help me get Abby back."

Hermione growled but didn't respond otherwise.

"One would think you would be grateful." He muttered as he walked over to the fireplace to get some warmth in the cold house.

"GRATEFUL? WHAT THE HELL WOULD I BE GRATEFUL FOR?" she yelled

"For saving your life."

"I didn't want to be saved, Draco. I don't have a life and frankly, death would probably be an entertaining thing for me."

"Fine." Draco stated, "Once Abby is safe, you will be free to throw yourself off the nearest bridge, tree top or whatever else you can imagine."

Hermione could feel her eyes burning as she fought the tears that threatened to spill. She was close, so fucking close to finally being put out of her misery and Draco fucking Malfoy had to go and fuck that up for her as well.

Two tears escaped and slid quietly down the sides of her face. She would not make a sound, not a single faint whimper that would alert him to anything. She refused to let him or anyone else see her cry.


	9. Chapter 9

Six hours had passed and not a word had been exchanged between them

Six hours had passed and not a word had been exchanged between them. The silence throughout the house was a bit disturbing for her as even her own place had things that made noises. The drip of the sink in her place could have been easily fixed, but there was something about the steady drip that relaxed her. The tree outside of her bedroom window would scratch against the window when the wind blew, it was another little noise that let her know that the world was not silent, but this place, Merlin, this place could drive you crazy.

Sighing for the thousandth time, Hermione looked over to the desk where Malfoy had perched himself all those hours ago, reading every word the file had to offer. She could see his eyes scan the pages, back and forth, back and forth, not skipping a single line, page, or foot note… he was determined to get Abby back before Psycho bitch got to her and went through with her plans.

Deciding Draco wasn't going to pay her any mind, Hermione rose up from the ground and made her way across the room to the small bathroom. She hadn't peed in hours and stunk to high heavens, so both things were in order before she curled herself onto the couch and fell asleep for the night.

The bathroom was small, way smaller then she expected decorated with cobwebs, spiders and mold. It didn't give you that feeling of clean you expect when you use an unfamiliar bathroom, instead, it made you wonder what was going to crawl up your leg and bite you or what rare skin disease you were going to contract.

She shuddered and with a wave of her wand, sterilized and cleaned the bathroom. She repaired the broken light and conjured up some soap and a towel.

The small tub filled quickly and even though she knew she had cleaned the tub, she had to force herself to get inside. Once she had slid in, the warm water erased some of her thoughts of flesh eating viruses and allowed her muscles to relax.

Twenty minutes or so later, the bathroom door opened and a tired looking Draco stepped through. He expected her to scream, tell him to get out but instead she just continued to look at the wall, ignoring him completely.

"Uh, man in the bathroom, aren't you going to hex me or something?" Draco asked

Hermione just turned her head towards him and shrugged, "Doesn't bother me, hasn't in along time."

Draco then sighed, just as she had been doing for hours as he plopped down and sat on the toilet so he could talk to her.

"Do you want to hear a story?" He asked.

Hermione didn't answer, she knew he would tell it anyway whether she wanted him to or not.

"When I was at school, there was this girl. She was in an opposite house, Gryffindor, I believe, and I hated her. The girl was smart, annoying so, and was always trying to help some creature or person, even tried to save the house elves at one time."

"This girl seemed to have absolutely no flaws and the Professors loved her even when she had stolen from them. Lied to them… anything and she always came out smelling like a rose." Draco stopped to let out a breath, "I picked on her for years because of her blood status, frizzy hair and bucked teeth, but no matter what I said or did, she always sucked it up and let it pass. I never managed to get under her skin as deeply as I hoped to."

Draco then stood and glanced down to the girl who appeared to be listening but bored out of her mind.

"Then, some years later, I run into this girl again. She hadn't changed too much in her appearance but I noticed one thing that I never imagined I would ever see from this particular woman. You see, she and I got into an … altercation of sorts and while I admit to being a bit rough, it gave me a chance to look into her eyes, the same eyes I use to watch flare with anger when she or someone else was wronged or needed protecting. The eyes that I noticed during the altercation were completely different. I didn't see the fight they once held, I didn't see the emotions I used to watch with fascination, but instead, I saw nothing but dull, lifeless, brown eyes that held absolutely nothing."

Hermione was in fact listening. She was listening closer then she would ever let on, but it changed nothing. She knew what he was trying to do, knew what he was aiming for, but nothing he said or did would change anything.

"Later" he continued, "I couldn't help but be curious as to what could have brought such changes to this girl and due to a little advice she had given me, I decided to do a bit of research. It took me a few days, but I found what I was looking for and after a few hours. I came to understand why this girl would be so distant, so dead inside but at the same time, I knew this particular girl was strong enough to get past it and always had been."

Hermione had taken to fiddling with the bar of soap. It was easier to concentrate on an abject that didn't make you think, than a person who was actually showing in some way that they remembered something about her that didn't directly relate to Harry or anything of that sort.

She really wished he would stop. She didn't need this, not now, not ever, it would only make things more difficult and she really didn't have the strength to deal with silly things like emotions or feelings or memories.

"I have to say that I was actually quite stunned when this girl, this girl who would fight anyone, including Deatheather's, just sat there and waited for someone to come and kill her. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that she sat there, calm and ready to die when there was absolutely no reason for it."

The soap Hermione had been fiddling with was now mush. She was growing irritated with Draco and very quickly at that. He just didn't get it, she had told him but apparently the sun was able to seep through his blond hair and kill the brain cells that allowed a person to understand what another had said to them.

She couldn't listen any longer. He was stirring things inside her that didn't need to be stirred, he was making things way, way harder then she wanted them to be and all she knew is she needed him to shut up and shut up fast.

"Didn't you hear me?" She asked in a pitch of voice a bit higher then normal.

Draco smirked inside, he had started the slow burn and had added just enough kindling to make for a nice, strong fire.

"You have no fucking idea who these people are and what they are capable of!"

She stood mid rant, completely naked and uncaring.

"Do you think these people will just give up? Do you think they will just forget that I'm out here and let me live my life in solitary peace? Let me tell you, they will not give up. You may have saved my life tonight but what about tomorrow, or the day after?"

"Then fight, damn it, fight like the girl I grew up with, fight like the girl who had the balls to hit me in third year!" Draco yelled back.

"For what?" she screamed back, "Why should I fight? Why should I even try when I have nothing worth fighting for?"

"Fight for yourself!" he retorted, "If you wont, then no one else will either."

Hermione stepped out of the water and grabbed the towel. She wrapped it around herself before turning to face Draco again. She couldn't hide them this time, her tears were falling and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop them.

"I'm tired of fighting, Malfoy, I'm just so sick of fighting." And with that, she walked out of the bathroom forgetting her clothes and leaving a sighing Draco behind.

Oooooooo

Draco had waited for a few minutes before following. He had expected her to scream like she had, he had expected her to put him in his place, but he did not expect her to cry and storm off.

He had never been good with crying women. He knew the basics of how to comfort one, but Granger was different, she wasn't the normal girl where soothing words and caring strokes would make everything better. No, Granger was the kind that probably wouldn't smile unless she had the offender's balls dangling from the ceiling.

He walked into the small living room where Hermione was curled up in her towel on the couch. He could see her face from where he was standing and she appeared to be staring into the fire, unblinking and unmoving.

He didn't ask for permission, he didn't even move slowly to see if she was going to hex him. He walked right over to where she was curled up and sat down.

"Look. I get what you're saying, I really do." He said as he looked into the fire as well, "And I am willing to make a deal with you if you are willing to listen to what I have to say."

Hermione nodded but otherwise didn't say anything.

"It would appear, that between the two of us, we have a few problems that need attention, the first being that my baby daughter is in the hands of a mad woman. The second being that there are people who are out to kill you and the third is that the same people are out to kill me as well."

Hermione turned slightly in order to look at him.

"I have a proposition." He stated, "You know more about Alexia then I do and I believe I will need your help in order to get Abby back safely. In exchange, I will protect you with everything I have and once Abby is safe, I will set you up in a house that is unplottable. I will also give you enough money to survive for the rest of your life without having to be bothered by anyone and I will never tell anyone of where you are."

"What about you? Did you forget that they are going to try and kill you as well?" She asked in a soft, almost normal voice.

"No, But once I get Abby back, I plan to make such a stink about everything that if anything happens to me, everyone will know the Ministry has something to do with it."

Hermione thought about Draco's deal for almost ten minutes before she sat up on her elbows, completely forgetting that she had only a towel covering herself. She didn't notice that her left breast had slipped out and she didn't notice Draco's eyes momentarily drop to said breast before quickly moving back to her face.

He had seen it and its friend a short while ago, but his mind was on other things at the time and he didn't pay that close of attention, but now, it was just there, less then a foot away and he couldn't help but have a look.

"I will help you get Abby back, but so help me Merlin, if you betray me in the end, I will pull off one more Assassination."

Draco nodded in response. He had no doubts in his mind that she would not make good on her threat.


	10. Chapter 10

11 days later…

11 days later….

"I told you not to just rush in… I told you to keep your head about it!!"

Draco looked down at his blood soaked arm and lovely six-inch gash to go with it. He didn't mean to rush in, but he couldn't help it.

"I know, Granger, but when I found the little pink ribbon… I just couldn't help myself… were running out of time."

Hermione sighed as she continued to clean up his arm. The cut itself was rather deep but the bleeding had slowed, allowing her to clean the wound.

"I know, I know, but we still have 19 days before the moon is full enough to perform the ritual and we need to be careful. I was under the impression that we were trying to stay alive."

Hermione pulled out a needle and held it over the flame of a candle. The wound was too deep to leave open and she would have to sew it the muggle way due to the fact that they were in the emergency house and didn't want their signatures tracked back to where they were hiding.

"This is a prime example why they don't let healers work on their own family members or law enforcement work on cases that involve relatives… people tend to lose their heads and get themselves and/or others killed."

I said I was sorry, Granger." Draco stated in an irritated voice. He was getting sick of listening to her bitch about it when he had already admitted that he fucked up.

"You'll understand some day when your kids are in danger." He added.

Hermione gripped his arm a little tighter and didn't answer his little jab.

"Just shut up so I can finish with your arm." She spat

Draco rolled his eyes and held still as she started to push the needle into the tender flesh. She remained silent as she worked, hoping that the needle hurt.

Five minutes later, Hermione put the last stitch in his arm, wiped the area once again with alcohol, stood and left the room before Draco could even mutter a thanks.

He watched as she walked to the door, punching the wall on her way out. What did he say to piss her off? What did he do to piss her off? He apologized didn't he?

Then Potter's voice ran through his head, 'cant have kids…cant have kids… You'll understand when your kids are in danger..'

He wanted to smack himself. He had forgotten that Granger was sterile… shit.

0000000000000000

Ron sat at the small table across from Harry with a frown on his face.

"Why would you want to go and do that?" Ron whispered as he looked around, "Do you even realize the repercussions? What people would say about us?"

"So we just let it go." Harry asked in an annoyed voice as he rubbed his hands over his face, "You read the damned book, you know what was done to her… Don't you think we owe her the peace going public could bring her?"

Ron sighed and took another swig of his Whiskey, "It's been along time, Harry, what's done is done and nothing will undo the damage. If we go public and say we were wrong, it could effect us in a negative way and I've got too much to lose."

"And while you're worried about what you will lose, A person, a friend that we ruined, will never get a moments peace when she has already lost too much."

Ron frowned again, "Why risk it? She already told you to bugger off and I was even worse than you were… I just don't see losing everything or giving ourselves a bad rep when she wants nothing to do with either of us."

Harry pushed himself away from the table. He was glad he was getting out of the Weasley family. They all liked the perks that they got when he married into the family, so much so that they forgot the people that helped along the way… Hermione included.

"You know, Ron, I figured you would be able to get over yourself to help out a girl you once loved, a girl that risked her life over and over again only to be hurt worse then either of us. I should have known, I should have known that you wouldn't give a rats ass."

"Harry, I –"

"I don't want to hear it." Harry hissed, "I'm going to make this right, I cant even sleep properly knowing that Hermione is being treated like crap when she was only trying to do what we were… trying to survive."

Harry then turned and made for the door. He needed a drink but he would be damned if he had one with Ron.

Ooooooooooooooo

"GRANGER! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Draco called as he walked the wooded area around the house. It had been three hours since she Hermione had walked out and had yet to return.

"COME ON, GRANGER, YOU CANT STAY OUT HERE ALL NIGHT."

Again he was met with silence.

Draco walked for close to an hour before he finally spotted a small figure curled up in the fetal position next to a tree. He walked closer, using caution not knowing what kind of mood she was in but quickly relaxed his movements when he realized she was asleep.

Her hair covered half of her face, her bloodied knuckles remained exposed and against the ground where he was sure the infection would set in quickly and it the other hand, a white folded paper remained clutched between her finger.

His first thoughts were suicide. She was already in the frame of mind where her life meant nothing and the paper clutched in her hand could very well be a suicide note… but why would she leave him a note?

Draco shook his head and dropped down to his knees next to her. He checked to see if she was breathing and once it was determined she was, he tried to wake her up.

He gave her a gentle push but she didn't move. He tried calling her name, but nothing, so he decided to read the paper… Maybe she ate something that could allow her to die slowly.

He was able to remove the paper easy enough and sat back against the tree to read it. He was expecting the paper to be anything other then what it really was.

Patient: Granger, Hermione Age: 18

_Height: 5' 4" Weight: 78 lbs_

_Illness: Severe bruising, emaciated, three cracked ribs upon initial examination._

_Notes: Patient was found after five months of captivity. Initially appeared to be suffering Severe malnourishment, various physical injuries, including some internal injury. _

_Notes after initial examination:_

_Upon examining the patient, She appeared to have mostly brusies, small lacerations made from a knife or other sharp instrument and some scarring around her thighs and buttocks area, possible burns. The patient also appears to have a small crest tattooed below her hair line on back of her neck._

Genital exam: Patient has small lacerations around vaginal opening and Anus, small scars from previous injury are present but there appears to be different stages of healing, leaving me to believe she has been sexually assaulted numerous times.

_Internal examination: Upon internal examination, Patient appears to have suffered several events where she received punctured lungs that were magically healed. A ruptured spleen, also magically healed. The patients Uterus and ovaries also appear to be missing._

_Other notes on patient:_

_Ms. Granger should fully recover from her injuries within a few days due to treatment. Patient was informed about her sterilization and seemed to handle it well. Patient appears to be depressed and frightened but I believe that can be fixed with Muggle medications._

Draco folded the paper back up and shoved it into his pocket before scooping up the heavily sleeping girl and carrying her back to the house despite the pain in his arm. Once inside, Draco took her to the small bed and tried to lay her down but at some point, her fingers had clutched to his shirt and wouldn't budge.

"Granger… let go so I can go to sleep." He whispered

Hermione heard him and opened her eyes, "Sorry" she muttered before dazing back off.

Draco nodded and made his way over to the lumpy couch. He planned on getting an early start the next day in his quest to find Abby.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: chapter is for mature readers

Draco couldn't sleep after he finally broke out of Hermione's grasp. He found himself sitting on the couch, staring at the wall and remembering the little things he missed about Abby.

He remembered the way she would giggle at the stupid things he would do, the smell of the minty shampoo that she insisted he use, the way she would look up at him with those eyes, knowing he would bend to her will with one look… He missed her and missed her dearly.

He caught himself smiling when he would think about the little things he took for granted at one time. The way he would grumble when she woke up in the middle of night and he had to drag himself up to see what was wrong. The words she would attempt to repeat as he named things off in a book, the way she would escape from her crib, just to climb into bed with him.

He sighed and got lost in the memories until he heard a small whimper.

Draco decided that once you had children, you became super human in some things. The second Abby came home, his hearing seemed to improve drastically. He remembered someone once telling him that they believed he could hear a mouse fart three miles away, he laughed at that at first, but when Abby farted and he ran to her crib to make sure she wasn't choking on something, he believed the person to be correct.

He glanced at the bed where Hermione was sleeping and heard the small whimper again.

He walked over to the bed slowly and found Hermione gripping the sheets, her face screwed up in what appeared to be pain, and her mouth hanging open in what looked like shock.

'Stop' She said in a low voice.

Whom ever she was thinking about apparently didn't stop because a second later, a scream ripped from her throat, sending chills down Draco's spine. The scream was filled with anguish, pain, and to his surprise, fear. She started to thrash a bit, tears streaming down her face and then nothing. Nothing, she completely froze, her face didn't go back to normal and her breathing was faster then normal but otherwise, she looked totally petrified… and that scared him.

"Wake up, Granger… your going to hurt yourself." He tried, knowing she wouldn't easily wake from the incident outside.

He reached his hand out to shake her but her arm flew up when he was half way there and grabbed his wrist. He looked over to see Hermione staring straight at him, her breath coming in pants and1 fear crossing her features before she relaxed and let him go.

"I thought you were… your father." She wheezed out, letting her head fall back to the pillow.

Draco frowned at her, "Why the hell would you think that?"

"Hair, eyes." She said in reply.

Draco nodded, he had forgotten that he and his father shared simuliar looks.

"Are you alright now?" He asked

Hermione nodded a yes, but her mind was screaming no. She knew she would be awake for the rest of the night like she always was when she had the rare dream about Lucius. It was those nights when she wished she had someone to hold her protectively, sooth her back to sleep, but that wasn't for her, no, most men ran from her and the ones that didn't were ones she wouldn't touch with a ten foot wand.

"I'm fine." She finally said with a sigh.

Draco looked at her and sat down, "You don't appear to be fine."

"I am"

"And that's why you are shaking like a leaf, that's why your breathing hasn't slowed to normal."

"Just go back to the couch, Draco."

"I don't think I will" he said with a shake of his head, "Scoot over."

"Wha-"

"Scoot over" he said slowly

Hermione frowned but scooted over. What was he playing at?

"Now lay down like a good girl."

"What? Look, Malfoy, I don't know what you're playing at but I can still kill you… I've killed before."

Draco chuckled at the look on her face.

"Just lay down and pretend I'm not even here."

Hermione huffed and rolled over so her back was to him. That was all she needed, to wake up to Draco's face.

The bed jiggled for a minute before he finally found a comfortable spot, "Night Granger."

"Nite, Malfoy" she said with a sigh.

Oooooooooo

The morning sun woke Hermione with a groan. The sun made people think happy thoughts, it messed with the body's clock and told it to get up whether you wanted to or not… and she hated the damned sun.

She went to get out of bed but found she could hardly move due to a heavy arm resting around her midsection.

"Fuck" she murmured. Why was he holding her? Her mind whined.

She tried to move away slowly, lifting his arm slightly only to have it snap back and pull her closer then she was before.

"Shit." She groaned

She let out a breath and lay there, trying to figure out a way to escape his death grip. His arm was heavy, but she could move it, well, she could have until he wrapped and tucked it under her body.

"Malfoy" she called in hopes to rouse him from his sleep.

He didn't budge.

"Malfoy, You're practically hugging me… you know, dirty mudblood, mudblood cooties?"

Draco didn't react the way she expected and ground against her. Her eyes flew open in shock – he had an erection and she was actually blushing even though she tried to stop it.

She was confused. She should have freaked out, hexed, and castrated him… but she couldn't. She was actually in bed with a man, a man that was not raping her but cuddling and grinding… it felt good.

"Draco, I wouldn't do that." She said. She didn't want to lose the feeling but she knew he was asleep and had no idea what he was doing.

"Why?" He mumbled into her neck, "You feel good."

So he was awake… the snake.

"Because I'm Granger and your Malfoy… Do you realize how wrong this is?"

"Nope" He replied and ground against her again, adding his lips to the back of her neck.

Her mind was racing. She was stuck in the middle of being pleased that a guy was doing this to her, despite who she was, and being completely scared out of her fucking mind.

She didn't know what to do, how to feel, she was completely lost to this whole… sexual thing.

"Malfoy, Please stop." She finally said with a sigh.

Draco obeyed quickly and stopped moving but didn't pull away.

"Why do you want me to stop? I'm a guy, you're a girl, this happens sometimes."

"You don't like me." She whispered

"And you don't like me either, but that doesn't mean we can't relieve some stress."

"I can't, Malfoy, I'm sorry."

Draco sighed, "You're scared." He stated instead of asking, "I can feel you shaking."

"I am not, I just… have to use the loo."

"I call bullshit." He replied, "I'm guessing you've never had sex before."

Hermione frowned, " I'm pretty sure I have before, Malfoy, My virginity didn't just get up and walk away."

"Have you ever been with anyone other then my father?"

'What the hell kind of question was that?' her mind screamed

"No, never cared to either." She replied

"Then you have never had sex. My father raped you, there is a difference."

"Sex is sex." She replied

"It's not." He said as he brushed his lips against her ear, "Let me show you the difference."

In a way, she was curious. Was it different? Did it hurt like hell? It always did when Lucius shoved himself inside her, but if she were willing, would it feel… good?

"It'll complicate things."

"How?" he asked

"It just will."

Draco sighed, "Let me show you and I will stop anytime you ask me to. I promise to be gentle."

Should she? Should she let him or should she push him away and run for dear life. This may be her only chance to know what it is like without being forced, it wasn't like men were beating her door down.

"You'll stop if I ask?"

"Promise" He answered, "I promise you will like it… I won't hurt you like my father did."

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded, "You better stop if I ask."

Draco nodded once more and began to grind into her again while he kissed her neck.

Hermione remained completely still, letting him take the lead in what to do… She didn't have a fucking clue.

"turn onto your back." He whispered into her ear.

She paused momentarily but turned as requested.

He climbed up and started to get on top of her when he noticed a brief flash of fear cross her face. His father really fucked her up.

"I'm going to take it slowly, I swear to Merlin that I will not hurt you."

"Okay" she whispered back. She couldn't help the few tears in her eyes. She was scared to death and didn't know what was going to happen. She had fought to control every aspect of her life, block all emotions – she felt like she did when she was eleven and found out that she was a witch, confused, excited, and scared.

Draco nudged himself between her legs, leaving her knickers in place. He wanted to warm her up as he was sure his father probably jumped straight in with her being dry as a bone. He lifted her shirt over her breast and pushed it up around her neck.

Hermione froze once again, but quickly shook it off… she had to get over this.

His mouth closed over one of her nipples while his hand that wasn't holding himself up gently massaged the other. It felt good, really good and she couldn't help but moan a little as jolts of pleasure raced through her body, even making her jaw tingle.

Her hand reached up slowly and hesitated before finally putting it onto the back of his head and pulling him closer.

Draco smiled to himself. She was starting to respond. Deciding to step it up a notch, his mouth left her breast and made it way across her chest and down her stomach with slow, teasing kisses and licks.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked as he reached her knickers.

Hermione moved a bit to rest on her elbows. She didn't want him to stop and she wanted to watch.

"No, don't stop."

"lift your bottom a bit."

Hermione lifted and sucked in a deep breath as he removed her knickers. She wanted him to continue with whatever he was planning, but when he hesitated, she freaked out and remembered all the scars.

She didn't say anything and just let her head fall back against the pillow. She now remembered why she never sought out a lover. Her body was not perfect and smooth like other girls. Lucius had left reminders both mentally and physically.

Her tears started to fall again, only this time in embarrassment. She didn't want anyone to see the burns or the cuts, especially a man who just talked her into trying this whole… sex thing.

She started to close her legs. She wanted nothing more then to get up and run. She knew she would be rejected again, just like Ron had done, and she didn't think she could handle it.

"Don't." Draco said softly and spread her legs once again.

Why was he doing this to her? Draco malfoy had turned her life up side down after she had worked so hard to set boundaries on how things would happen in her life.

She started to close her legs again but before she could move a single muscle, lips connected with her thigh along with a tongue.

"You don't have to… I understand." She said in a strangled voice.

Draco ignored her and moved his mouth to her mound, making Hermione gasp in shock. His tongue licked the swollen lips before he parted them with his tongue and found her clit.

The initial contact was brief, but the sensations were long lasting.

"Gods" She groaned

His arms wrapped around her legs to hold her in place as he started to suck on her aching clit.

He was right, so far this was very different then Lucius, Hell, Lucius would have been half way done by now as his idea of foreplay with her was adding a little spit to her opening and his cock.

Her hips started to gyrate slowly as she decided to just go with it. Thinking to much would probably ruin it and she wanted to enjoy this if she could.

His tongue moved faster as he inserted two fingers inside her. She was getting wetter and wetter by the second so he had no worries that she didn't like it.

"Oh, god." She moaned.

What was going on? Why was her body feeling like this?

"Something's wrong." She stated, "My body… it feels funny."

"Draco stopped for a second, "Just let go. Don't hold anything back just allow your body to enjoy this."

What the hell was he talking about? Her body never felt like this before.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." She almost screamed as her body finally freaked out on her and exploded.

It felt so good, it felt like her nerves were on fire.

Draco lifted his head and smiled, "How'd you like your first orgasm?"

Hermione couldn't help but smirk, "Can you do it again?"

"Repeatedly." He said cockily.

He removed her shirt the rest of the way, along with all of his clothing.

Hermione was watching his cock like it was a snake that was going to bite her. This was the object that had caused pain. This was the object that made her scream for mercy so many times.

"It'll be different… just trust me."

Trust wasn't something she handed out lightly. Trust was one of those things that can break you worse then you already were.

She gave him a swift nod, laid back, and sucked in a deep breath as she waited for the pain to start.

He moved up her body, placing his cock right at her entrance, "Are you ready?"

"Just do it." She said in a tight voice as she closed her eyes.

She felt him breach her body and instinctively flexed in a protective position, but the pain never came. Draco slid inside her body with ease and to her surprise, felt great.

"Sweet Merlin you're tight." He hissed, "I don't think I'm going to last very long this time."

He started to move inside her, slowly at first and watching her body for indications to speed up or stay at his current pace.

It was hard to maintain a slow pace, painful even.

"Go faster." She groaned as her legs wrapped around his waist.

Draco obeyed and moved quicker, speeding up when she would moan in pleasure. He was right, he knew it wouldn't take long but he still wanted her to come first. He adjusted his hips slightly to ensure maximum penetration as his body pushed against her clit.

"Come for me, I want to feel you tighten around me." He grunted

His words went straight to her crotch and with a few more minutes of pounding, she screamed, her nails gripped into his shoulder and she shattered with her second orgasm.

"Damn, witch." Draco grunted, 'I'm going to fill you."

"Oh god" she whimpered as a third orgasm hit.

Draco hissed and stiffened above her, "fuck" he grunted as he came, filling her just as he promised.

A/N: I know some of you will think this happened to quick, but I have my reasons and I plan to keep her to the darker side, but I need to get her to open up a bit... at least to Draco.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry sighed to himself as he walked into the door, shoulders slumped, but determined to right a wrong

Harry sighed to himself as he walked into the door, shoulders slumped, but determined to right a wrong. .It had been a long few weeks, a long, hard few weeks with regrets and self loathing, but today he was going to make the first step in making Hermione's life right once again.

"Mr.Potter" Anton Hense greeted

Harry turned to the short, balding man and held his hand out.

"Mr. Hense, I presume."

Anton nodded and shook Harry's offered hand.

"Call me Anton, and if you will follow me, we can get started on this."

Harry nodded and followed the man down the hall and into a nicely decorated office.

"Now, You say you have a story that you would like me to write?"

"I do." Harry replied, "And I chose you due to your reputation for printing only what needs to be said and doing it straight to the point."

Anton smiled, "I am a firm believer that the message can be given without dragging all of the dirt into the mix."

"So, what do you have for me, Mr. Potter?"

Harry pulled the black book from his robe pocket and dropped it down on the desk in front of him.

"Inside that book, you will find things that will both horrify you and make you queasy. The book is the story of why Hermione Granger gave my position away to Voldemort."

Anton winced a bit at the names of both Hermione and Voldemort, but otherwise held a mask of indifference.

Anton then picked up the book and stroked his fingers along the spine. He didn't really want to read it, he didn't need anymore images of bad things going through his head, not after everything he had already seen and read the days following the end of the war.

"Tell you what, Mr. Potter, how about you just tell me the story as best you can and together we will make a tasteful article that will not cause anyone grief, myself included."

Harry nodded, "Fair enough."

Oooooooooooooooo

Three days had passed since the 'incident', and Hermione carried on as if nothing had happened at all. They still had 16 days left to find Abby and Hermione threw herself into that instead of thinking of other things that would surely cause her to become distracted.

They had four more Manors to check along with three buildings that Hermione had noticed Alexia go to in the time that she followed her.

"Found anything?" Draco asked over the muggle walkie-talkie that Hermione had given him.

"I'm not sure." She answered back, "There seems to be some activity on the west wing, but I can't tell who it is or what they are doing."

"Can we get in? Or are there guards again?" He asked and released the stupid button.

"No guards that I can see, but the wards appear to be unusually strong… I believe there has to be something here but I can't be sure."

There was a silence before Draco came back, "I'll meet you there in two minutes."

Draco started his walked to the West Side of the large manor, hope filling his heart. He was terrified that they wouldn't find her and if fate was on their side, and they found her with time to spare, he promised he would never take advantage of anything ever again.

Draco slipped down on the ground next to her, but didn't say anything as she was concentrating on something.

"Alexia is here." She said out of the blue, "but I don't see Abby with her."

Draco felt his blood run cold. Were they off in thinking what ritual they were up to? Did she already dispose of Abby?

"Them I'm going in to look for her." Draco replied

He started to stand but before he could get completely to his feet, Hermione gripped his ankle and pulled him back down.

"Now is _not_ the time to be stupid. You cant just rush in like a blond Zorro."

" What the hell is a blond Zorro?"

"Never mind" she said while shaking her head, "All I'm saying is we need to be careful. If Abby is in there, and you go rushing in, they might leave and ruin any chance we have at getting Abby back."

Draco huffed but didn't say anything.

"Now, The wards seem to be weaker the further away from the West wing you are. I suggest we find the weakest point and slip in undetected… we need to watch before acting or we will only get ourselves and Abby killed."

Draco wanted to scream, he hated waiting for anything, especially when it came to the well being of his daughter but for Abby's sake, he would listen to Granger.

Oooooo

Anton looked as if he had seen a ghost. He had been one of those people who shunned Hermione, even cursed at her a few times, and now, he felt just as guilty as Harry did.

"Merlin, Mr. Potter, I – I am at a loss for words."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I've been like this for weeks… I haven't even tried to get my divorce settled."

Anton sighed and stood from his chair, "What about the Weasleys? Do they know about this?"

"Ron does, but he would rather stay out of it… he has a thing of not wanting to admit when he is wrong."

"And the others?"

"Have no idea. I actually planned on flooing Molly Weasley and letting her know about the article that way she doesn't have a fit."

Anton picked up the book once again and handed it to Harry, "I suggest letting the people close to her know what happened before tomorrow… then burn that blasted book before everyone knows what happened to her in all its gory details… There are somethings that are better left private."

"Will do." Harry replied, "So, it will be printed tomorrow?"

"It will, but I should also warn you that I caught wind of another article that will also be running tomorrow. It would appear that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are being accused of using Dark magic… the Ministry is going to offer a huge rewards for them, breathing or not."

Harry frowned, What the hell was going on?

A/N: Short chappy, I know, but I want to get some other stories updated. Sorry for the delay.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, The wizarding world was more confused then it had been in a long time

The next morning, The wizarding world was more confused then it had been in a long time. The prophet had everyone talking. Purebloods, muggleborns, and half blood alike were unsure of what to think. The front page held both stories. One of horrible deeds and painting Hermione as the innocent victim, the other saying that she and Draco Malfoy were on the verge of becoming the next Lord Voldemorts.

Coffee cups were dropped, toast was burnt, and many, many people were late for work as people floo called each other, trying to grasp what they were reading.

Could they have been wrong all this time? Did the hatred they showed her finally tip the fragile cup of sanity and send her into the dark arts? No one knew, but everyone had his or her theories.

Ron read the paper and sighed. Harry actually went through with it and probably committed social suicide in the process. He didn't miss the fact that the article reported him as ' wanting to stay out of it'.

Ron shrugged and threw the paper into the fireplace… what did he care.

Molly Weasley was a complete mess. She had been kicking herself since Harry had come to visit her and told her the truth. She was a mother, she was supposed to pick up on things, but she totally let down the only other girl she once considered to be like a daughter to her.

The paper itself brought forth a gaggle of emotions to the elder witch. She was sad, angry, repulsed, and ready to hex her own son for his cowardice when it came to defending the girl that he had once loved. Had she really raised a complete jerk?

Harry sat on the bed, doing only a quick read of the article that he was part of. He was more interested in the second article, the one that was offering a reward for her head.

Something wasn't right, not up to standard, and didn't make even the first lick of sense. He knew Draco was involved, it would be too much of a coincidence considering he had approached him about Hermione in the first place… he just could figure it out for the life of him.

Oooooooooooo

Hermione and Draco were completely in the dark. They didn't have access to the paper and had no idea what was going on outside of the dusty, old Manor. It had taken hours of precise ward lowering and extreme stealth to make it as far as they did.

It wasn't easy, not in the slightest, but with her training and his knowledge, they managed to make it over the grounds and onto the roof of the Manor without being noticed.

"We need to split up." Hermione whispered.

Draco shook his head, "That's stupid. Merlin only knows what kind of people we are dealing with."

She rolled her eyes, "Listen, I'm not stupid, nor defenseless. We need to split up to see what we can find. We will cover twice as much ground that way." She sighed, "Just meet me back here in 3 hours time to check in."

Draco didn't like this, not in the slightest, but she had a point and he knew there was really no sense in arguing with her once her mind was made up.

"Three hours, not a minute later." He finally replied.

Hermione nodded and went her own way, leaving Draco behind.

An hour in, Hermione had covered almost the entire top floor. The place was weird. There were rooms that hadn't even been gone into in years judging by the dust covering the floors and the size of the spider webs while other were clean enough to pass a health inspector.

She had only encountered 3 men, all were too caught up in what they were doing to even notice her glimmer as she slid across the walls soundlessly. They were all ugly men, no doubt ones that didn't care for the hygiene in the slightest bit, and it made her wonder what Abby was thinking having to see them.

Draco had made it to the second floor. It was in good shape, not as dingy as the top floor where he knew Hermione was, but still not a place he would like to call home.

He noticed that there were a high number of people living on that floor, all the rooms appeared to be lived in, including the forth one in the west hall that he knew had to be Alexias.

Her belongings were carefully put away, much like he was use to, but the thing that disturbed him the most was the fact that Abby was nowhere to be found. He couldn't even find her things. He searched room after room, hoping to find her or a sign that she was alright, but at the end of the third hour, his heart felt like it had been sliced in half… there were no signs of her.

He made it back onto the roof and waited for Hermione, he could only pray to whomever was listening that she had some information.

He waited for almost an hour but Hermione never came back. A whole new flash of fear crossed over him as he wondered if she was all right. That bothered him, but being intimate with someone tends to make a person… care about another person, especially when said person actually trusted you to show her how it was done.

He set his determination and went back inside, he knew she was there, he just had to find her.

Ooooooooooooooo

Hermione spit at the woman she knew only too well. Alexia was smart, too smart, and appeared to be more evil then even Hermione anticipated.

"So, Mudblood, What brings you here?" Alexia asked as she wiped the spit from her face, unfazed.

Hermione tilded her head up and refused to answer.

"No matter." Alexia stated, "You will be staying for a while… I'm sure the truth will come out eventually."

Alexia snapped her fingers and two men came forward.

"Take her to the cell."

The men nodded and grabbed her by the arms. She was magically bound and couldn't exactly fight back. They walked for what seemed like an hour before she was tossed into a dingy cell and unbound. Alexia stood on the side, smiling as Hermione jumped up, prepared to fight.

"You wont be leaving Mudblood… as a matter of fact, you may prove useful."

"What the hell do you want me for?" Hermione yelled

Alexia smirked, "To care for the little brat in the corner."

'Brat in the corner?' Hermione thought and turned around quickly.

She was shocked to see Abby curled in a ball, dirty, cold and crying.

"How could you do that?" Hermione practically yelled, waking the almost three year old girls up in the process.

Abby sat up and got to her feet as quickly as possible.

"Mummy…tummy hurts." She said in a soft voice.

Abby then raised her hand towards Alexia, opening and closing her tiny fist in hopes that she would pick her up.

Alexia sighed and snapped her fingers where a small plate appeared. The plate held a small sandwich, an apple, and a small container of milk.

"No, I want you mummy, not food." She pleaded with trembling lips.

Hermione watched in complete horror as Alexia sneered, "Go eat your food you little brat… I am not your mummy."

Tears filled the little girls eyes as she looked down to the small plate on the ground and sat down to eat.

"How could you be such a fucking bitch?" Hermione yelled, "That is your daughter and you wont even hold her?"

Alexia waved her hand, "I hate children but she was a necessary evil. I only took care of her long enough to keep her alive… she means nothing to me."

"Then let her go! I'm sure someone out there will want to take care of her properly."

Alexia laughed, "She wont be going anywhere for another..oh.,.. 15 days… Then it won't matter."

Hermione didn't even need to ask, she already knew.

Alexia flicked her wand a few times and a bowl of cold water appeared with a rag.

"Clean her up a bit… she is starting to stink."

"She needs clean clothes, a brush, a clean nappy."

"Not necessary but as long as I don't have to deal with it, then by all means."

She flicked her wand a few more times making the items requested appear before turning and leaving. Hermione could have fought harder but she couldn't help but want to deal with Abby first and foremost.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been hours since Hermione had been thrown into the cell with Abby, and despite the way things actually looked, Hermione grinned like an idiot

It had been hours since Hermione had been thrown into the cell with Abby, and despite the way things actually looked, Hermione grinned like an idiot. Alexia's face was priceless when Hermione accidentally on purpose, tripped over the step causing her to fall straight on the floor in front of her. She knew she would be caught and that was exactly what she wanted.

Hermione had been listening to a conversation that Alexia and an unknown man were having. They were fighting over whom was actually going to feed Abby and clean her up… neither wanted any part of it. Hermione wasn't thrilled about taking care of Abby, hell, she didn't even know if they would think of it, but it was a chance she had to take in order to kill a few birds with one stone… or herself, either way she accomplished something.

Getting caught was sort of an investment for her. Draco wanted Abby and Hermione wanted to be left in peace, so she reasoned out that by making sure Abby was safe, Draco would come through on his word and provide her the house he had promised… sort of the one hand washes the other analogy.

She played dumb when she was 'caught', which worked to her advantage. Alexia had no idea that Hermione had any connection to Draco and as far as she was concerned, she never would. Her objective was simple: get caught, keep Abby safe, kill Alexia, and get her house away from everyone… it was a big risk but everything fell into place nicely.

Hermione leaned back against the wall and her eyes drifted to the small form that was sleeping on the other side of the cell. Abby looked like she had lost weight, more then acceptable for a child and her physical condition was actually…well…. Gross.

She didn't want anything to do with the child. She didn't want the child clinging to her because she was alone and needing comfort… yet, she felt bad for the little girl.

Hermione remembered being in a dirty cell, covered in her own waste, starved, and mentally abused, just like Abby was now. She took pity on the child for that reason and that reason alone. She felt a small connection to the child simply because they were pretty much in the same boat, with the exception that Abby was actually an innocent, not really old enough to deserve what was happening to her, she was too young to have caused problems to anyone.

Abby had been betrayed, just like she had been. Harry and Ron didn't even give her the chance to explain what happened, nor did they want to hear it. They kicked years of friendship into the dust and left her to rot. Abby had been betrayed by her own mother. Alexia should have been their to protect her, care for her and make sure she grew up right, but like Harry and Ron, Alexia abandoned Abby and left her to rot as well.

Hermione had done her best to clean and heal Abby with the small amount of wandless magic she could handle without being found out. Alexia finding that she could do any magic without a wand wouldn't help either of them in the least.

Abby was unsure of Hermione but allowed her to clean her up. Neither spoke, niether made eye contact, and once she was clean, Abby made her way back to the corner she had taken up residence in without a word. She had sat there for almost three hours playing with a small teddy bear before curling up and falling asleep.

Hermione eventually went to the opposite corner and lay down on the hard, stone ground. It was like being trapped with Lucius all over again, only this time it was a Lucius with breast.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Draco had gone back inside the Manor and after a quick assessment, he realized he was totally out numbered and couldn't do it alone. Hermione had obviously been found out, 'some assassin' Draco thought as he scurried across the grounds and left to get help.

When he got back to his manor he found the place under guard and heavily warded against anyone getting inside, him included. He sat in the tree line, watching and waiting for anything, like dinner break or something.

Well into the night, Draco was woken up by the sound of a twig breaking. He quickly pulled his wand and sat completely still, hoping to see who or what was walking near him.

The steps were getting closer but no one was there… and that sent the hair on the back of his neck to a stand. He waited patiently, breathing shallowly until five feet away from him, a cloak dropped and Harry stepped forward.

"You should really glamour your hair if you going to be hiding at night." Harry stated, wand pulled and ready for anything Malfoy could throw.

Draco lowered his wand and started to breath normally.

"What the hell are you doing on my property, Potter?"

Harry lowered his wand slightly, "Trying to figure out what you and Hermione are up to." He stated evenly.

Draco sneered, "You have no right to call her by her first name. And it's none of your business."

"I beg to differ, Malfoy, you see, according to the prophet, you and Hermione are wanted for using dark magic." He shifted to a different stance, "And considering that you two hate each other, I find it interesting that you would come to me with that damned book and are now both wanted criminals."

Draco shook his head, "Do you believe everything you read? The situation is not that simple. There are things you don't know, couldn't know and the fact is, my daughter and Hermione are both in trouble right now."

"Trouble?" Harry asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes, Potter, as in dying soon."

Harry sucked in a deep breath. He didn't know if Malfoy was being truthful but he wasn't sure that he wanted to risk not believing him.

"Care to explain, then?"

Draco chuckled, "You wouldn't believe me even if I was willing to tell you everything. She's different, more so then even you would ever believe."

Harry shifted again and Draco continued.

"You, Potter, are no better then my father was. He abused her body, left her scared both physically and mentally. You however, abused her heart and while I think she would have been fine if my father had only hurt her, what you did caused her to turn into something that I would never have believed had I not seen it with my own eyes."

Draco stood from the ground slowly, "Hermione isn't the same girl and I believe she will never be that girl again, however, if not for what she has become, I would not have had a chance at trying to save my daughter. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to enlist some help to save a few people."

Draco turned and started to walk away. He had one person that would help him, one person that he would trust with Abby's life, and one person that he would tell everything to and he needed to get there.

"Wait!" Harry called

"What now, Potter?" Draco said with a sigh and turned around.

"Is she really in danger? And your daughter as well?"

Draco nodded, "I didn't stutter."

"Then I want to help." Harry stated as he walked towards Malfoy, "It's the least I can do."

Draco once again shook his head, "I don't think she would want your help… I honestly believe she would rather take death."

Harry sucked in a deep breath, "It's the least I can do for her."

Draco studied the gryffindor for a long few minutes. He really didn't want Harry involved and he was sure Hermione wouldn't either, but at the same time, even two people would have serious issues trying to take the manor in which Abby and Hermione were being held in… The boy who killed Voldemort would probably come in handy.

"Fine, but not a word of what you learn will ever be repeated."

Harry nodded and walked towards Draco and together they apparated away to the other person Draco needed for help.

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Hermione was woken up when a pot of boiling water was thrown on her, She didn't even have a chance to defend herself considering she had been sleeping, but that didn't matter, despite the pain, she didn't scream.

"Get up, filth." A man yelled, "The brat needs tending to."

Hermione tilted her head towards Abby's corner and noticed the small girl curling in a ball, crying.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Hermione asked. Her skin was really starting to hurt and she really didn't want to deal with anything, but she was there to protect Abby.

"The brat needs a proper bath. She is snotting all over the place and wont let us near her."

Hermione looked again and noticed the greenish discharge coming from her nose.

"You know, genius, if you idiots would maybe give her a blanket, she wouldn't get sick."

The man laughed, "Just do what ever you need to do. Grab the kid and follow me."

"Not until you heal my skin." She bargained. There was no way she could pick up a child with the pain she was in.

The man sighed and flicked his wand, her skin felt better immediately. She then walked over towards Abby and held her arms out. Abby was hesitant, but reached back.

"Can you understand everything I am saying?" she whispered into the girls ear.

Abby nodded a yes, quickly and hardly noticeable.

"Good, now listen, If I start hitting people, I want you to stay against a wall until the other person is not moving… do you understand that?"

Abby once again nodded

"Good, now lets go."

A/N: I had a review in the last chapter saying that I didn't make Hermione dark enough towards Abby. I had my reasons and made sure they were clear in this chapter. Hermione actually feels bad for Abby considering she is going through the same thing Hermione did a few years earlier, not to mention she needs to keep Abby safe in order to get what she wants. Also, excuse any errors, I only skimmed this chapter for mistakes.


	15. Chapter 15

Severus Snape and Harry Potter, both sat completely still as they listen to Draco's story. Who in the hell would have thought the Ministry of all things would have a program where assassins were needed and used. Who the hell would have thought that the once vibrant, well loved girl, would actually be an assassin and able to kill on command… it threw them both for a loop.

Harry was having a harder time with the information that he was being told. He had known Hermione for years and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the girl he grew up with wasn't a killer, but with this information, he realized he knew nothing.

Severus was taking the news a bit easier. He had seen enough over the years to not doubt a single word that was coming from the youngest Malfoy. He had to admit that the news of the Granger girl being an assassin wasn't one he was expecting, but then again, things in life were rarely what anyone expected.

He could understand why Granger would fall into the roll. She was treated like the shit on the bottom of a shoe…. Like he had been treated for so many years, but the difference was he had been treated like crap his entire life, he knew the way Granger was being treated probably did more damage than anything considering she was the prized Gryffindor for so many years.

"So that's the story." Draco finished with a sigh.

Harry remained completely silent but Severus wasn't one to ponder for long.

"Do you have a plan, Draco? Surely we are not to just storm in when we know nothing of the numbers we are up against."

Draco shook his head, "I don't know what to do, that's why I came to you. I tried to think of a way to go in and get them both, but I cant do it alone, it would be impossible."

Severus gave a slight nod and looked over to Harry before turning his attention back to Draco.

"I will help you in whichever way I can. Abby needs to be saved before any harm can come to her."

Harry was still listening and it kind of jolted him to hear his mean, scary Potions Master actually care about a child.

"And Hermione." Harry added in a low voice.

Draco once again sighed, "Yes, Hermione as well."

000000000000000

Hermione walked down the dingy halls, holding Abby tightly. She didn't like the looks the guard was giving her or the child and she would be damned if some filthy old man tried laying a single finger on the young girl.

"You are to clean her up quickly." The man gruffed out, " There is no need to spend a large amount of time on something that wont even be around much longer." He finished with a snide chuckle.

Hermione was fast growing irritated at the man. He didn't look to be a hard target, but she would have to be precise and she would have to be quick. The trick was getting Abby out of the way and taking the man down within a few seconds of each other.

"You know, You could probably use a good bath yourself." Hermione replied in a sing song voice.

She had learned a long time ago that men very rarely liked to be made fun of by a woman, even if what the female was saying was true. Was she trying to piss him off? You're damn right she was, it was part of the plan.

"You have no room to talk." The man growled out, showing both Hermione and Abby is rotting, yellowed teeth.

Abby didn't like the man at all, the gross teeth didn't help, so she gripped Hermione a bit tighter.

"Now I suggest you shut that pretty little mouth of yours and just do what you are told."

Hermione snorted and continued to walk without even giving the man the satisfaction of a reply.

The walk seemed to take forever, but in reality they had been only walking for 5 minutes before they came to the room at the end of the hall. The room wasn't small, nor was it large, it was just about right for being a decent sized bathroom. The floors were grungy and dirty, the spa sized tub was disgusting and littered with rat feces, and there was nothing to wash with, much less dry off with.

Hermione looked around and turned up her nose.

"Could you at least clean things up a bit. It would be rather pointless if the child got sicker because of the nasty conditions."

The man growled and waved his wand quickly, cleansing everything.

"I suppose you would like soap and a towel as well?" the man asked in a condecending voice.

"Yes, actually, and some clean clothing too." She replied in the same voice he used.

The man did as requested, he didn't need the girl getting sicker and Alexia having his balls for dinner.

Hermione walked over to the tub and turned on the taps, not once putting Abby down with this man still around… There was no telling what the creep would do. She waited patiently for the tub to fill as she explained to Abby what she needed to do.

"I'm going to tell the mean man to turn around while I pretend to undress you. Do you understand?"

Abby was only two, but she nodded so Hermione took it for what it was and continued.

"Now, when I put you in the bath, I want you to sit on the step and do not move, do not make a noise… do you understand that."

"Sit and quiet" Abby whispered back while looking at Hermione for conformation.

Hermione nodded back and dropped down to her knees, placing Abby in front of her.

The man watched, bored with the whole task in general.

"Do you mind turning around? Unless you are one of those perverts that like children." Hermione asked in a cold voice.

"I have no interest in a child and should curse you for even thinking such things." He hissed, but turned away to prove his point…. Perfect.

Hermione looked to Abby and pointed to the step in the tub. It wasn't deep and she would easily be able to stand up without drowning. Abby looked to where Hermiones finger was pointing and nodded.

Hermione followed right behind Abby to make the sounds of what she knew the guard was waiting to hear. Abby slipped into the water and Hermione wiggled her hands in the water a bit to make the washing sounds.

"Now do not make any noise and do not move… no matter what…. Okay?"

For being only two, Abby seemed to know what the situation was and how serious it was. Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was knowing that she didn't want to be in the rank little cell with old food and no warmth, maybe she was just to damn scared to do other than what she had been told…. No matter the reason, it worked for Hermione.

Hermione nodded towards Abby and stood up very slowly. She couldn't be heard, not even a shuffle of the feet could be made, she had to be absolutely quiet and use the stealth she had been trained with.

The man wasn't very far away, ten feet at most, but every step had to be calculated, every step had to be precise and silent in order to make it the lousy ten feet in order to take down her objective.

The stand it self took some work. She had to make sure not a joint popped when she stood from her knees to the upright position and everyone knows the body did whatever it wanted whether she wanted it to or not.

She finally made it upright completely and to her relief it was completely quiet. Hermione looked over to Abby and made a cupping motion, urging her to move the water a bit so the guard suspected nothing. It took a few seconds, but Abby understood and did as she was told.

The first step in the guard's direction was swift and sure. There was no room for mistakes and as slow as she knew she should take it, the reality was he could turn around at anytime and blow the entire plan out of the water… not to mention royally piss him off.

The second step was a bit more calculated. Yes, the guard had cleaned the room up a bit, but there was still grit on the floor and that would definitely get his attention. She sucked in a deep breath and continued to move towards him… the sooner the better.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Harry was now pacing. It didn't make since to go with Snapes plan. The needed to do research, find layouts of the manor… something other then watching and waiting for the right opportunity… who knew what the hell was happening with the two girls at that minute.

Flashes of what Harry remembered reading in the damned journal raced through his mind. What if she was being tortured again? Raped and beaten? What if she had already been killed? It made him regret everything he had said and done all the more.

"And then what?" Harry finally yelled, " We sit and watch while they may be in serious trouble? We need to come up with a plan that will get us in quicker!!"

"And what do you suggest?" Snape asked in a bored voice, "This isn't a Voldemort situation where you are destine to be the damn hero… anything can happen."

"I know that" Harry yelled back. He wasn't meaning to be a jerk about this, but his guilt was eating away at him and all he cared about was getting her back safely.

"Look" Draco finally interrupted, "We need to work this out together. There are two people in that place that mean something to us and fighting amongst ourselves will bring nothing helpful."

Harry and Severus both glared at each other before turning to Draco, he was right, they knew it, and they had to figure it out together.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

She was close. She could smell his unwashed skin, the sweaty, mildew smell that came from his clothing, the odors that attached themselves to his hair from the foods he had eaten… is was nauseating, but she was close and knew what she had to do.

She had exactly 10 seconds to bring him down. He was larger than she was by a good six inches and probable 130 lbs, but she had taken down bigger without a problem, the difference this time was the man had a wand and was ready to use it if need be.

She was only a foot away. The perfect distance to reach out, grab his head, and twist with enough force to snap his neck. It would either work or it wouldn't, she just hoped it would.

Her hands slowly rose, not moving to quick for fear that the air moved from moving to quickly would alert him to her smell. All she had to do is grab tightly, hang on, and twist… that was it…. She was so close.

Six inches left and she would have him. The sweat was starting to form on her brow from intense concentration and maintaining perfect muscle control. Her nerves were wracked because this could be it, she failed or she succeed, one way or another, someone was getting hurt, if not killed.

She was right where she needed to be. She started to close her hands so she would have a good grip on his head, and then the worst thing that she could never have imagined happened. A rat ran across the floor, startling the man and causing his head to hit her hands.

It was no longer simple, she was going to have to fight with everything she had in her to get out of this one.


	16. Chapter 16

Both Hermione and the man froze. It was like a slow motion horror scene where everything took forever simply because there was a shock to it. Hermione didn't expect the rat and the man didn't expect to jump back and feel hands on his head… it was the shock of the moment and both were left temporarily paralyzed.

Two heartbeats could be heard through out the room. The loud thuds were the only noises that were around the room as two pairs of eyes met each other. Abby was still and silent, unsure of what was to happen as the man and Hermione circled each other, sizing up the competition.

"So you's thought you could be sneaky did ye?" the man snarled, "I should have know you'd be one to try somethin."

Hermione didn't reply but simply continued to circle him, analyzing his weak spots and looking for the quickest way to take him down. She noticed that his right leg was about an inch shorter than the left. His left shoulder seemed to be a little stiffer than the other and his neck seemed to have a little less muscle control than the normal person… he had his weak spots and she had her targets.

"So tell me –" Hermione started, trying to get her distraction in to the scheme of things, "Why a child? Why an innocent that hasn't done anything?"

Hermione let out a small chuckle, as the man seemed to think about what she was saying. He wasn't changing his mind, just simply trying to work it out.

"Does it make you feel good? Does it make you feel like a man to torture someone who has done nothing to you? What if she was your daughter or your grand daughter…. Would you still feel right about treating her this way?"

"The child is no' my concern, her own mother is the one who came up with this plan years ago… the child was bred for this purpose."

"For what though? To bring back something that causes pain to everyone… including his followers? Or to create a new one that will do the same?" Hermione laughed, "I never understand you purebloods and your idiotic ideas… wanting something that will harm you in the name of racial purity."

"Is no' like that… we have standards, and half bloods and _Mudbloods_ have no business having power.. Even if it is less than ours."

Hermione didn't flinch at what he was saying, she was too far gone to let the words like Mudblood have any meaning to her.

"Is that really the case? Or are you worried that a _mudblood_ could be stronger than you? Or smarter?"

"t'will never happen… they are freaks, they are barely witches or wizards and have no idea of what it means to have such powers. Purebloods are raised to understand what kind of gift they have… Mudbloods just walk into it blind with no idea of what powers they are lucky to have."

"What if they embrace it? Love the wizarding world and try their best to be part of it?

The man was growing irritated with her now. She was talking and asking too many questions.. she just needed to shut up and get back to tending the child.

"Enough of this!" he shouted, "You'll not convince me that the little monster should live… we have years of planning this."

Hermione nodded slightly, "Then you must understand that I will fight for her. I will not let an innocent pay the price for a bunch of self absorbed pricks like you."

The man started to chuckle and didn't notice as Hermione pulled her arm back. He never took his eyes away from hers, not even enough to see the tiny fist come to front, not until it landed soundly in his left eye.

"You'll pay for that bitch!" he shouted as he covered the injured eye. He reached out and tried to catch her by the hair, but with the one punch she had already gained advantage over him and was able to easily slip out of his reach.

Hermione quickly ducked behind him, having both training and agility on her side. She didn't give him time to respond, after all, he did have a wand and she didn't. She quickly raised her leg and spin kicked him in his shorter leg, causing him to stumble a little.

"You know?" she stated, "I wasn't always this rough."

She landed a few punches in quick succession to the back and side of his head.

"I once loved our world.. I once wanted to be a part of it more than anything… but I was turned against"

The man raised his wand and tried to defend himself, but he had no idea that the girl who seemed so quiet had such a mean streak to her… she wasn't the normal girl.

"And I changed. I once would never have harmed someone unless it was absolutely needed." She shouted as she kicked the wand from his hand and punched him in the cheek once again, "But now… my life means nothing. Your life means nothing and I don't have a single qualm about what I'm about to do to you."

The man tried to back away. The girl was obviously short fused and full of anger.. not to mention much younger and full of spunk.

"What you planning on doing?" the man asked as he tried to gain his bearings so he could move away from her.

Hermione smiled, "I'm going to do my job, even if its not really my job anymore."

The man looked confused and stared blankly at her.

"I'm going to kill you." She said in a sing song voice, "Only I will have mercy and kill you physically, I wont kill you the same way I was."

The man eyes went wide for a split second, but that was all he had because before he could reply, a set of small, strong hands gripped the sides of his head and with a quick firm twist, his neck was broken and he was on the floor.

Hermione didn't pause to look at him. She knew he was dead so there was no need. She had to get Abby and get out quickly before they were discovered. She turned to the bath and spotted a visibly shaking little girl. A little girl who had seen too much at her young age, a little girl who had just watched a life be taken right before her eyes.

A small pang of sympathy rang through her as she looked into the face of the frightened girl. It would take everything Draco had to erase the bad memories from her… she was just glad it wasn't her responsibility.

Hermione walked to the tub and scooped the still shaking child from the water. They didn't have much time to get away, especially since she didn't know the layout of the manor. She didn't speak to Abby and Abby didn't say anything either… there was no need.


	17. Chapter 17

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about my stories. I have gotten quite a few emails even though I have not updated in forever so I figured I would let you all know what is going on.

I am currently working with a published author on a real book that I am writing. The book is very complicated for me as a writer because it has many twist and turns and I am doing my best to make it all flow as steadily as possible for the readers. I PROMISE that as soon as I have the kinks worked out and my brain is not so fried, I will update and finish my stories.

I am sooo sorry it is taking so long, but my heart is wanting to finish this book and I really need to go with it.

On a side note, I am looking for someone who is good at art and has some free time to make a cover of sorts and a few other things for my book. I will be making a myspace for the book and want an original layout to help show it off. I will give full and complete credit to anyone who steps up. Send me a message if you are interested.

Again, I am so sorry… I will make it up to you.


	18. Chapter 18

Using another's wand was never a sure thing. Magical ability had nothing to do with success or failure – it was luck, pure dumb luck.

Feeling the rough wood in her hand, she spared a glance to the little girl in her arms. Trying to use this wand could be disastrous, but the sound of people walking nearby left her with little choice. She could handle a few people in a fight without a problem, but keeping the little girl safe is something she couldn't guarantee.

Taking a deep breath, she moved to the corner of the bathroom where she felt the wards were the weakest. She needed all the pure dumb luck on her side if she were to get Abby to safety.

Closing her eyes and tightening her hold on Abby, luck was on her side for once as she managed to apparate both of them out and into the bushes where she had left Draco before they both went to search.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked the girl in a low whisper.

Not verbally responding, Abby nodded a yes, which was good enough for Hermione. Hermione looked around hoping to spot Draco. All she wanted was to deposit the girl into her father's arms and leave. The house be damned, she had, had enough and at this point just wanted to be alone and away from people.

Things had become so complicated. She had gotten use to her job. She had gotten used to being solitary. And she had gotten used to her life away from everyone with the exception of a small handful of people that were in the same boat she was.

Yes, the Malfoy case was one of those things that she was required to do, but she should have had the foresight to see that the Malfoy's always seemed to cause some disruption in her life and she had a gut feeling that taking a house from him would do nothing but cause her more grief.

"Alright, Abby, we are going to apparate one more time because I do not see your father anywhere. The problem is where."

Abby clung tightly, waiting for the trip to start when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a little doll next to a tree.

"Dolly!" she screeched, almost making Hermione drop her.

Hermione followed the scrawny pointed finger and noticed that a doll was indeed next to the tree, and not just any doll, a doll she had seen Malfoy give to Abby when he was her target.

"How in the hell did that get here?" she asked aloud, not really expecting a reply back.

She walked slowly to the doll, hearing noise coming from behind her, no doubt the occupants of the house had discovered she had gotten away by now, but she was taking care to walk so that they weren't so easily spotted.

"Well, I guess your father left this incase we got out." She said as she bent down to pick up the doll.

As soon as her fingers touched the dolls head, Hermione tightened her grip on the little girl, yelling 'Shit' as she felt the uncomfortable pull of being sucked away by port key. She just hoped Draco had been the one to leave it, not someone else that she would have to deal with.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo-0000000000000000000000000000

"Can we agree on something yet? Anything?" Harry gripped and he looked up at the clock once again.

Severus looked over to Draco, who was obviously growing more and more irritated with each passing minute.

"Shut it, Potter, I think I have it figured out." Draco said grumpily.

"Praise the Gods." Harry said sarcastically.

"Potter, do hold your tongue. Your bitching like a nagging wife is becoming bothersome." Snape added as he finished lacing up his boot.

"You know, being here with two Slytherins who supposedly are known for being cunning and sneaky, I bet I could have had them out by now. I swear you two are lacking –"

Harry was cut off from finishing his sentence as Hermione and Abby came spinning into the room, landing with a surprisingly gentle fall.

Gripping the unfamiliar wand tightly, Hermione stood up quickly, ready to challenge who ever had made the port key. She hadn't made it this far just to be taken hostage again, but upon seeing Draco's face, along with Potter and Snape, she slowly lowered the wand .

"Daddy!" Abby squealed, reaching her arms out for the blond who was temporarily frozen in place.

Seeing his daughter was a shock to him. He was glad she was back, but seeing her condition caused his heart to stop.

Coming to his senses, he grabbed the small girl for Hermione's arms and seemed to sink into the world known as Abby. He completely forgot about everything else, only concentrating on what was currently in his arms.

"Hermione?" Harry said softly, remembering his last encounter with her wasn't a pleasant one.

Hermione turned and stared blankly at her one time best friend, and brother. "Potter." She said evenly.

"Listen I ju—"

"Save it Potter. I've had a stressful few days and I could care less about anything you have to say right now." She said, cutting him off. She didn't want or need his pity, apologies, and excuses, anything he had to say to her.

"But I didn't know! I just want to make things right."

Hermione let out a sigh, "I believe I already told you everything was forgiven." She then turned to look over to the blond man who was now watching the exchange with curiosity, " And Malfoy, forget about the house. I don't need it."

Draco knitted his brows in confusion, ready to reply, but before he could get a single sound out, she disappeared with a pop.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo-

Coming back to her flat was probably not the smartest thing she had ever done. She knew even before arriving that she would likely not see the sunrise of another day, but she had nowhere else to go and had infact, made a deal with the devil so to speak and she knew all of the risks involved before she had agreed to anything.

Her contract had clearly stated that had she been found out in any way, her life would be null and void, something that hadn't bothered her in a very long time. She had time to consider everything from the beginning and she had agreed to herself that if it ever happened, she would abide by the contract, she refused to spend the rest of her life running.

Once again sitting on the floor, she took a deep inhale of her cigarette and sighed, letting out a small, pathetic giggle. Who would have ever thought she would end up in a position like this? Scorned by all, hated by those who once loved her and she them. Taking lives of actual people because she was told to and better, not feeling an ounce of guilt for doing so. Yes, who would have thought the know it all bookwork would be capable of such things and yet, she most certainly was.

Risking a glance at the clock, she noticed that she had been home for nearly an hour and was actually highly surprised that she was still breathing. They would have known the second she stepped foot inside and normally would have been here within minutes… but an hour? She shook her head and leaned back, it was only a matter of time.

She continued to ponder her decision to just be done with it, never having to think on it ever again, and finally being somewhat at peace. Abby, well, Abby was heavy on her mind too. She remembered the time when she was just a slip of a girl, thinking about someday getting married and having a child or two. But once everything was said and done, she never thought on it again. Abby's grandfather had taken that choice from her and it took time to move past it, but she had done so and it became a smaller and smaller nag as time went on, eventually not being a nag at all. But holding Abby, protecting her, feeling emotions for the child in regards to her safety… it brought it all back and was now a constant nagging reminder of what she would never have.

She sighed again, snuffing the cigarette out on the floor and instantly reaching for another. Placing it between her lips and striking the match, the flame never reached its goal as her door slowly clicked open.

Hermione looked up, a look of confusion etched in her face as a man stepped through the door. She expected another assassin but that's not what she got. Blowing out a breath, she watched as her boss pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.

He stared at the girl for a long minute, noticing that her stare was still dead, her emotions still at bay, and most concerning, her resolution at what was to come. She didn't look scared of losing her life, she just appeared to be ready, unconcerned, and unmoving.

"Well, Granger, it would appear that we have a problem." He stated in a soft tone, "And I'm not sure how to handle this part of it."

Hermione lit the cigarette, confident that she had time for one last smoke before she was done. She looked to her boss and sighed, "What's to handle? You and I both know what the contract says… so let me finish this and get it out of the way."

Her boss sighed; the granger girl was a sad case indeed.

More tomorrow guys. Im going to work on one at a time so not to get the stories confused.


	19. Chapter 19

Pinching the bridge of his nose, her boss leaned back in the chair and sighed, "You don't know, do you?"

Rolling the cigarette back and forth between her fingers, she exhaled and trained her eyes on the man, "Know what?" she stated in a bored tone.

He leaned forward and pulled a rolled up newspaper from his pocket, tossing it down to the girl on the floor, "It starts on the front page, but continues on page 5."

'what now' she thought as she opened the paper and leaned back. There, bold as hell on the front page was a picture of her from 6th year and a headline that screamed:

_Hermione Granger, not the monster we all thought!_

_As a reporter, it is not every day that the one and only, Harry James Potter, walks into your office with a story that could change lives. We all know the story of three friends, working from a young age to stop Voldemort from taking reign of our world. We also know of the betrayal that had almost cost us the war, and that betrayal was known as Hermione Jean Granger._

_Years have passed with Ms. Granger being on the top of the list of the most hated individuals. I, myself, have seen her treatment and up until Mr. Potter came to my office, never felt a lick of sympathy for the girl who had betrayed her friend, and our world as a whole._

_But the story, , laid out for me, I must admit, not only turned my stomach but came as a hard smack to the face when I realized that girl we had all turned our backs on, treated like scum, and alienated from society, had lost far more than any other survivors from the war and did so while most of us were safely tucked in our own lives._

_I would be lying if I said that wring this article was easy. It is in fact, one of the hardest, most disturbing I have ever taken on, but the truth needs to be told, the wrongs need to be righted, and a girl who was willing to give up her life and had done so in many ways needs to finally get the Merlin first class she justly deserves, but more so, chance to live a normal life._

As Hermione read on, she showed no emotion to what she was reading. He had expected to see something from her, but when there wasn't even a small sparkle of light in her eyes of relief or satisfaction, he confirmed to himself that she was too far gone to ever live a normal life.

He watched as she flipped the page and continued to read. He could see her occasionally shake her head, heard her mumble once or twice, and he was pretty sure she growled at least once. It wasn't much, but something on the second page had stirred something in her, he just wasn't sure what.

After about five minutes, Hermione calmly folded the paper, lit another cigarette, and stood. She looked at her boss, face still blank.

"So what? Potter had someone write an article that for once doesn't put me in a bad light." She sucked in the smoke from the cigarette, and exhaled slowly, "But at the same time, thanks to the second page, the entire fucking world knows that I was a shag bag for a death eater, they know that I was weak and begged for my death, they know about the starvation, the torture, the scars… things that only a few were ever to know."

"But it's good." Her boss stated firmly, "That article saved your life. There is no way we can just dispose of you like the contract requires… too much is at stake and in doing so would cause riots within the ministry." The man sighed again, "Thanks to that article, you are now just as respected and Harry Potter himself."

Hermione rubbed her hands over her face, looking calm and peaceful, but on the inside a storm that had been steadily brewing was now at its maximum peak.

"So you think that because precious, Harry fucking Potter, decides to tell everyone my business, business that he didn't even want to know when he threw me out on my ass and turned everyone against me, that I should just – be grateful!"

Her boss was not a dumb man, he knew when he was being baited and decided it was best just to keep his trap shut.

"I am leaving now, I need to speak with Potter, but when I get back I expect that the contract be fulfilled. It is a legal binding contract and I demand it to be carried out."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo -0000000000000000000000

Still sitting with the two slytherins, Harry didn't know what to do next. He wanted to hold her like he had done when she was first found, promising her that everything would be alright. He wanted to take everything back, every hurtful word, every glare, everything, and yet he couldn't and knew her true forgiveness would most likely never happen.

Abby had long since fallen asleep after being fed everything her heart desired. She snuggled into the warm blankets of Uncle Severus's bed, content that she had her father back. Content that she would eat more than once a day. And content that she finally felt safe.

Draco and Severus were in conversation discussing nutrition potions that would help Abby get her health back, but another thought was on the girl that he had a serious like-hate relationship with.

The refusal of the house was really getting to him. He thought that by being the one providing the house that he could possibly form some sort of friendly relationship towards her, after all, she had showed him that maybe not every part of her was dead and if not for her, his daughter would have most likely been offered up on a silver platter to bring Voldemort back.

But he would keep all of that to himself. She was gone and most likely in hiding or dead. She hadn't showed him even once that she was remotely interested in him other than the single night where he tried to show her that making love was not the same as rape… and he had done a good job in his opinion.

He sighed and sat back, continuing to hold a conversation with Severus while watching the boy who lived , look as if he were the boy who was close to throwing up.

A relative peace was within the room so no one was expecting the arrival of one angry witch, that was until she appeared, armed with a rolled up newspaper in her hand.

The first thing she did when she arrived was look around the room, seeking her target.

Harry looked up just in time to see the streak of paper that instantly began assaulting his person.

"You think that a fucking article is going to fix things?" she yelled as she swatted him, "The entire fucking world knows what I had tried to keep secret." She added, not relenting with the paper in the least.

"You THREW _me_ away, not the other way around. I took everything, EVERYTHING, that man did to me knowing that if I were not killed, that I would still have you."

Tossing the paper to the side, she grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt, pulling him from the chair, and slamming him into the wall.

Holding him in place, she pinned her forehead to his, "I loved you Harry. I loved you enough that I was willing to forfeit my life in order to save yours." She said, still seething with anger, "Do you know what it feels like to be fucked by someone who just beat the hell out of you not 5 minutes earlier? Do you know what it's like to beg for death, knowing that it means you will lose everyone you ever cared about?" She let him go, stepping back from him, "The article has done nothing but cause people to feel pity for me… and they shouldn't. I kill people, Harry, and I do it without feeling remorse. I take husbands from their wives, mothers from their children, and it provides me with a sick satisfaction that I can't explain. I am not the same Hermione Granger that you grew up with. I am, in fact a monster."

"It's normal that you feel that way." A voice said across the room.

Hermione turned and walked towards her ex-professor, "It's normal that I wake up and the first thought in my mind is how im going to kill someone?" she asked, stabbing her finger into his chest, "What fucked up fantasy realm have you grown up in to where you think any of this is normal in any way?"

"It's normal because you are angry." He replied, unfazed at the angry witch standing in front of him.

She stepped back and cackled, "It doesn't make any of this normal."

She looked around the room, shaking her head. "Let my last words to you be remembered – FUCK all of you!" and with that she was gone and off to complete her final mission, Mrs. Malfoy was a dead woman.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I will be pumping out chapters while I have the chance. I normally don't post chapters so close together because face it, you don't get reviews that way and part of doing this is to get constructive criticism. However, I feel the great many of you have been patient and I feel it is my responsibly to get these stories completed because you have taken your time to read them.

Also, I own nothing. I am simply borrowing J.K's characters and bending them at my will.

Arriving at the manor that she had just escaped from not more than a few hours earlier, her concerns that lady Malfoy had left were quickly dissipated as she heard the long winded screeches from the woman herself.

How stupid it was that the woman hadn't left. Draco could have had half the ministry there by now, all willing to kill the woman for torturing her own daughter and leading her to the slaughter for the return of the dark lord, but the woman remained, yelling into the night at her failed plans.

She wasn't lying to Harry when she told him that she got a sick pleasure of taking lives. So, she casually left out that the lives she was taking were of those who really deserved it and with everything she had been through, it brought her some comfort knowing that she was getting back at the people with the same interests as her one time captor. But that was moot point. It was not normal for anyone to take pleasure in killing, but she couldn't help the satisfaction she got when she saw the lights leave the eyes of the once living as they descended into death.

She had given some thought on how she would dispose of Lady Malfoy. It was a special case for so many reasons and she wanted to remember every detail.

Her first thought was slow torture. Normally, she was quick, in and out before anyone could link anything to her, but it didn't matter now, she had already been ousted.

She had then thought of painful curses. There were so many to choose from and not a single one of them would even pass as a natural death. The one she had remembered most was a particular nasty curse that essentially cooked a person from the inside out, turning their vital organs into a blood filled soup, systematically killing the body one area at a time.

And lastly, there was the norm. Just doing it and getting it over with, but that was the least attractive to her because while Abby would eventually heal and hopefully not remember any of it, the whole situation reminded her of her time spent with Lucius Malfoy and since she couldn't get her revenge on him, lady Malfoy would do just as nicely.

Stalking through the grounds, Hermione didn't take the care to show up unannounced. She had several factors on her side, the first being that she was trained for this sort of thing, the second being that she was extremely pissed off, and lastly, her taste for revenge was too strong to be overcome. She didn't want it to be a surprise. She wanted the whole lot of them to know she was coming and all of them to know that sometimes, something's can just push a witch a little too far, which unbeknown to them, they had done just that.

She laughed as the first man darted from the gate of the manor. Wand raised and ready for attack. He ran at her, clearly ready to fight and clearly not expecting to get an avada right between his beady little eyes. She didn't even spare him a second look as she heard his lifeless body hit the ground.

Reaching the gate, she mumbled a quick charm that showed body heat from everyone within a 500 yd range. She was surprised to see that the number in the manor had dwindled to about 4 when hours earlier, the same spell found more than 20.

Fine by her, she would kill them as she found them, but they were not her goal.

As she walked through the remainder of the yard, she paused briefly a few feet from the door, pointed the found wand and blasted the door from its hinges.

She knew by the body heat signatures that everyone had heard her entrance and were scurrying to find its source.

She had made it half way up the stairs when a short, chubby woman charged at her. Sparing little time, Hermione grabbed the woman by the front of her blouse and pulled, sending the woman down the stairs with a crunch as her neck bent at an unnatural angle and a small stream of blood left her mouth and nose.

'three left' she noted in her head as she reached the top of the stairs and took a right, moving quickly to the next victim.

In stories, the last one found was always the main character in the scene, the alpha villain, if you will, so Hermione was pleased when she rounded the corner and came face to face with none other than Lady Malfoy, who was red with anger, and hoarse from yelling.

"YOU!" the woman had screamed, "You ruined everything!"

Hermione just smiled, looking amused as the red in the woman's skin seemed to come alive.

"I had this all planned for years and you just come along and ruin it."

Hermione looked bored, but only for a second. She allowed the woman to rant, making her feel like she was in charge of the situation, but it was a game that Hermione had learned to play well.

Caught up in her superiority, she didn't notice Hermione flick the wand under her crossed arms, silencing her and effectively leaving her unconscious.

"So easy to manipulate… its amazing you made it this far." Hermione stated as she levitated the limp woman to the nearest room, locking them both inside.

Draco would like to say that he wasn't affected by Hermione's brief appearance and subsequent hasty exit, but he was. She didn't even spare him a glance, and more, she was hell bent on this being her last night alive which didn't bode well with him.

The problem was, she didn't mention where she was going or what she was doing, so none of the three men had any idea where to even look for her, and Harry, well Harry wasn't much help because he had yet to stop sobbing, feeling the guilt way on him heavier that he ever expected.

At a loss, Draco sat in the chair, silent just as Severus was, trying to think.

"Daddy?" a small voice came from the door of Severus's room, "I come out?" she asked

Draco smiled and nodded, holding his hands out for his daughter. She scurried into his lap and leaned against his chest, finding one of the buttons on his shirt to play with.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?"

Draco stiffened. He hadn't thought how he would explain of this to her. How do you tell a child that their mother was trying to kill them. Children's love was unconditional towards a parent, especially at Abbys age.

Rubbing his hand over his face he sighed, "I don't know sweetheart. I don't know where your mommy is."

"Find her?"

"No, princess, it's not a good idea right now."

Abby seemed to accept this and leaned in heavier. "Where's Herm – Hermy?"

"Do you mean Hermione? I don't know where she is either."

"She with mommy?"

And that was it. An epiphany brought on by a 2 yr old. Hermione Granger had changed, but there were some things that he didn't think would ever change and that was Hermione's lack of ability to just walk away.

His wife was Hermione's last assignment.

"Severus, can you look after Abby? I think I know where Hermione is."

Harry perked up instantly and Severus nodded, "I will keep watch over her, but I don't see why you are running into the night to save one who doesn't want to be saved."

Draco shook his head, "Because she saved my daughter. I owe her at least a try."

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))000

Hermione stalked around the bed where Lady Malfoy laid, stretched out and tied up.

Hermione would give the woman credit, seeing her up close, she was a beautiful woman… it left little wonder as to why Draco married her.

She was everything she expected a Malfoy to marry. She had money, looks, and no doubt a flirtatious feminine personality that acted like an pheromone to the male populace. She was everything that Hermione was not.

"Wakey, wakey." Hermione taunted as she tossed the ice could liquid from the glass in her hand.

Lady Malfoy woke with a start, the ice cold water chilling her to the bones.

"My, my, the tables have indeed turned." Hermione gloated as she walked around the bed, watching as Mrs. Malfoy tried to scream.

"Yeah I wouldn't bother trying to talk.. or scream… it would just distract me – I wont be removing that spell."

"So, shall we get started? I'm absolutely itching to see what it takes to make a would be baby killer beg for mercy."

Lady Malfoys eyes went wide as saucers – she knew she was fucked.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just playing with what is not mine.

A/N: I meant to have this up earlier, but I had to take my daughter to the hospital. I'm very tired, but didn't wanted to leave you with nothing so forgive any mistakes in spelling and such.

Walking around the bed, pacing as she thought, she would give an occasional glance over to the woman who was trying her damnedest to escape. He attempts made her smile because she knew without a doubt that there was no way, lady Malfoy, was breaking free.

"You know," Hermione started, "The Malfoy's, as a whole, have never really been kind to me. Your husband… tormented me in school. Your father in law, well let's just say he had a perfectly good punching bag for a few months… and now you. You, well, you never did anything to me, per say, but you did do something that I find rather despicable and you know it has to be bad if that's coming from me and I kill people for a living."

Hermione pulled out her found wand and started tracing it down Lady Malfoy's body.

"This wand," she started with a laugh, "Isn't even my own, and you know how tricky magic can be when you are working with a wand that didn't choose you. I wonder, as I drag it down your arm, if I tried a tickle curse and it backfired… what would it do?"

Lady Malfoy started to struggle, hoping that she could get ever an arm free.

"Shall we test it out?" she said in a voice that even she had to admit rivaled Bellatrix.

Closing her eyes for a brief second, she smiled brightly as she drug the wand down the perfect skin of her assignment, watching as it made a perfect surgical slice down the arm, revealing the pink tissue that now oozed with blood.

"That was for your daughter." Hermione stated, "Abby loved you, trusted you, and most of all, she was innocent. She should be tucked safely in her bed, not getting sick in a smelly old dungeon, crying for a mother who doesn't even want her… you are pathetic."

She continued to walk around, thinking as she went, she wanted to do so much to this woman, but really, the stuff that would do the most damage would only be effective if she allowed Malfoy to live… and that wasn't happening.

"I should rip your uterus straight from your body, no magic involved. It would be fitting for a monster like you."

Hermione sat the wand down on a small table across the room before walking back over to the bed and sitting down next to the woman who was now crying.

"You are crying?" she said with a laugh, "And do you think that is going to work on me? If you are hoping it will, save it. I am almost done with you anyway."

Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out the syringe filled with black liquid and held it up for lady Malfoy to see.

"This liquid… will kill you." She said simply, "I inject it and within a minute or so, your internals will start to fail. Nothing major at first, just a few bodily systems that one can survive without, but by one minute, thirty seconds, your lungs will slowly die, followed by your heart, and lastly, your brain."

She stood from the bed, removing the cap from the needle and gave the stopper a tiny push to clear any blockages.

"It's normally relatively painless as your senses are first to go, but this particular batch is of my own making. You see, I am a mudblood, but I am a mudblood that took to the art of brewing relatively easily… better than most purebloods actually.

Now, I know you are smart, I've done my research on you, you know, so when I tell you that I added a slight dash of lung butter to the mixture, how does that make you feel?

No answer, well, I can't say I was expecting one.

The main properties of lung butter heighten the bodies senses – meaning, that once I inject it into you, you will not get the somewhat peaceful death that others have had before you. When I inject this, you will feel everything, every nerve that dies, every blood vessel that burst, every pain as your body struggles to maintain its functions… and fails miserably."

As Hermione took her place back on the bed, she took lady Malfoy's left arm and felt for the biggest vein. It wasn't hard to find as the womans veins were already struggling under the stress of the arm being held it the odd position for so long.

Pushing the needle into the vein, Hermione slowly started to inject the black liquid.

"Don't do it all." A voice said calmly behind her.

Hermione didn't flinch as she recognized the voice being Draco's.

"I see you got passed my wards on the room." She stated as a fact, not a question, "However, I have already injected half of the potion and your wife is going to die, so it would be wise not to try and stop me."

Draco laughed, "Do you honestly think I would stop you? This woman tried to kill my daughter, no, I will not stop you, but I will ask to be the one that injects the last of it."

Hermione thought on it for a split second and finally nodded, she supposed he had the right, after all, it was his daughter.

She stood, holding the needle in place as Draco approached. Once it was firmly in his hand, he looked down to the woman that he hated with every ounce of hate he had.

He watched as her eyes grew wide and even took on an almost begging appearance before he shook his head, "You don't deserve her, never have, never will." And with a slight push, he watched the rest of the liquid enter his wife's body before extracting the needle and stepping back.

Both watched in silence for nearly 5 minutes as the woman in the bed silently screamed, her body twisting in odd angles, her muscles contracting as they fought for blood, and finally the way the body relaxed, knowing that it was inescapable, and giving up the fight for life.

Draco looked over towards Hermione and sighed, "I honestly expected you to go way harsher than you did."

Hermione shrugged, "What was the point of wasting more time on her than necessary. I made sure she didn't go out easily."

Draco nodded, "Well, that part is over and Abby can rest peacefully now. But that leads to my next question, what's next for you?"

Hermione smiled, "My own escape."

Draco shook his head, "That is what I thought you were going to say."

Hermione didn't see it coming, which surprised him, he had expected a fight, but the stunner spell he shot at her hit her square in the chest, giving him time to bind her and throw her over his shoulder.

"I didn't want to do this, but you are way too excited about dying… and I need to try and fix that."

Hermione struggled and grunted but she didn't have the strength to escape him and his binds. Draco took a deep breath, held onto Hermione tightly, and apparated them away. He knew she was going to be one pissed of witch when he released her.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: This is a longish chapter so be warned. I have finally figured out the ending and everything else that will happen over the next set of chapters. I will warn you that there is no Draco/Hermione interaction in this chapter but there is good reason for this. Also, I know there will be a few things from the last chapter that are not address in this one but they will be addressed in the coming chapters so be patient.

The last few weeks had been hell for Hermione. Draco, well, he had ambushed her and she was for lack of better words, pissed.

She wouldn't say that she was happy to be alive, she had her moments when she had honestly wished for death, but it would seem that the fates were against her and after three weeks of being passed around to one agency or another, she couldn't kill herself if she had tried.

She sighed as she looked at the monitor on her leg, oh how she had tried to remove it, but the damned thing would budge. She hated life now, more so than before.

She glanced at her watch and took another sip of the fire whiskey she had ordered some ten minutes earlier. She didn't really want to be here, but she didn't have a choice – it was ordered by the ministry and like a muggle prisoner, had she failed to show, her life would become even less of her own than it already was.

She heard the bell above the door and she automatically knew it was him, the one who started this whole mess years ago. He was ever late. She heard his order for a fire whisky before he slid into the booth across from her, a tense smile on his lips.

"Potter." She greeted with a not so thrilled voice. She wasn't ready to be on a first name basis with him, hell, she didn't even want to talk to him, but the ministry has stated that social interaction was the key to healing. She didn't want to heal; she just wanted to be left the hell alone.

Harry sighed, he hated the last name but he had grown accustomed to it. This was their 6th meeting and she never once called him by his first name.

"Hello, Hermione." He paused to accept the drink from the bar keep. Once the bar keep was more than a few feet away, he continued, "How are things going since we last talked."

She shrugged, "Same ole shit. Therapy twice a week, talking to you twice a week, dealing with simpletons that honestly think I care that they are sorry for how I was treated."

She took a long sip of her drink, downing it like it was water, something she and Harry both knew most men couldn't do.

"And then I got the damned letter two days ago. Does the minister honestly think I care about a public apology and an order of merlin for my part in the war?"

Harry shrugged, "I told him it wasn't the best idea, but he didn't listen. He's the youngest minister ever and trying to make a name for himself and you, in his opinion, are the best way to help his image."

She nodded, "I suspected as much."

Harry looked at her dress robes, "So, I take it from how you are dressed that you agreed?"

"Oh, yes, I most certainly did." She answered with a smirk that said she was up to no good.

"Please tell me you are going to do something that lands you in Azkaban?"

"Nothing like that." She answered, "But I'm telling you, the ministry is fucked."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that they ordered me to do all of this bull shit, the therapy, the meetings, the friggin vow, and out of nowhere, my old boss shows up and asks if I want to continue in the assassin program. They think I have issues?" She finished with a snort.

"Well, are you?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't agree to go back to that.

"Merlin, no." She said with a shake of her head, "As far as I'm concerned, this whole world could take a massive nose dive and I wouldn't give a shit! I'm done helping this world, Potter. It's done nothing but cause me grief."

Harry nodded in understanding, looking at his watch. He glanced up to see her looking at hers too.

"Well," She said standing, "I guess it's time to receive my award and get my apology."

Harry nodded and stood as Hermione walked to the bar keep to pay. The man looked at her with his yellowed crooked teeth, "Tis no charge for Ms. Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes and slapped the money down on the counter. She didn't want anything from these people, not their kindness or hospitality. She inclined her head and walked out, ignoring Harry as he tried to catch up with her.

He fell into step beside her, noticing how the people all smiled as she walked passed. Everyone had sure changed their tune as of late.

Break

Harry Glinder, the newest MOM, stood in front of the mirror making sure his robes were perfect. He was giddy because today was the day that his name would finally make some waves in the world that he had been struggling so hard in just to be accepted. It wasn't that he wasn't a good guy, not in his opinion anyway, but his age was a constant hindrance as he climbed his way to the top. He had been waiting for something, that little something extra that would help and now he had the opportunity. He was going to publically apologize to Hermione Granger and give her the Order of Merlin that she should have receive so many years ago. It was just the thing he needed to get his ratings up.

He glanced at his watch, grabbed the small papers that outline his speech, and with a final glance, strutted out of his dressing chambers and down to the podium where had been informed about the massive amount of people that showed up for the event. He was stoked.

He gave the signal and the men guarding the doors opened them and allowed the large group of people in. He noticed to his left as Hermione Granger approached and took the chair that was waiting for her.

Once the room was pack to its limits, he walked closer to the podium and cleared his throat, waiting for every to settle down before he started his speech… it only took a few seconds for the crowd to quiet down as their eyes shifted and glued to the man in front.

He mentally patted himself on the back. This was it! The crowd was watching with anticipation and they all knew that this was going to make some sort of history and HIS name would be the one in the books who brought her injustices to the public eye and made her the star she should have been all along.

He cleared his throat, "Welcome everyone, to a celebration of massive proportions. Today we are going to recognize a woman, who throughout the years has faced public animosity and scrutiny. Today we will reward her for her sacrifices and efforts to save our world when the outcome at one point looked rather bleak.

Hermione Granger, a muggle born witch, came into our world at the age of eleven when she started to attend Hogwarts School for witch craft and wizardry. In her first year, she befriended someone we all know, Harry Potter, and another well-known name, Ronald Weasley."

Glinder paused as the crowd applauded. To Harry's credit, he looked sheepish and looked as if he would rather the attention be elsewhere, but over to the right, Hermione almost choked as she noticed Ron, hands raised in the air while smiling broadly and accepting the attention. Figures he would show up to something that got his name back in circulation. When the crown finally calmed once again, the minister continued.

"Years ago, our peace was threatened by a horrible tyrant who committed many crimes through his followers and himself. Harry, Ronald, and Hermione risked their lives from the age of eleven to save our world from falling into the tyrant's hands. However, after the war, a miscommunication cause one of our heroes to be cast out as a war criminal of sorts and for this, I and the other members of the ministry would like to offer our greatest apologies."

He then turned to Hermione who while looking calm, was anything but. There were so many things going through her head at that very moment, Ron, and how she wanted to beat the holy hell out of him for showing up for this when he wouldn't give ten minutes of his life earlier to clear her name. A MISCOMMUNICATION? What happened to her was _not _a miscommunication! It was a lynching and a blacklisting. A complete alienation from society, miscommunication her ass. And the fact that the man thought an apology was what she really wanted? No, she didn't want anything from anyone. She wanted to be left the hell alone… that's what she wanted.

She stood and walked to the podium where Glinder was waiting with a huge grin.

"Ms. Granger. On behalf of the ministry and everyone who is now free to live life in a normal, peaceful way, we present you with this Order of Merlin, first class for your help and selflessness in protecting our way of life. And I wish to apologize for every harsh world and cold act that was bestowed upon you because of a grave misunderstanding. We, as a society, were wrong and hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us."

Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. She didn't have a heart, well, except for Abby and even that was only maybe a fraction of a chamber. The minister raised the medal hoping she would get the clue and bend down so he could place it around her neck, but she stopped him with a hand, something that made Harry very nervous about.

She took the medal in her hand and looked it over briefly. She wondered how different her life would have been if the _miscommunication_ would never have happened, but that was neither here nor there because it did happen and it had caused a great deal of damage to any part of her that hadn't already been shattered into a million pieces. She cleared her throat and walked to the podium. The crowd was deathly silent.

"As wonderful as you all think this should be, I regret to announce that the lot of you can, well simply kiss my arse. None of you had the right to treat me as you did. None of you knew the truth. You all took the word of a mentally unstable boy and in turn, ruined a life."

She turned fully to the right where Ron was now looking rather pale

"And you, Ronald Weasley, were supposed to be my best mate. All of the years that I put up with your asinine comments and lack of tact, I still loved you like a brother. I would have freely and without question given my life for you and Harry, something which I tried to do to save you and you treated me like I was some stranger that betrayed you." She paused for a minute, "At least Potter had the balls to admit he screwed up… you wouldn't give me the time of day."

She then turned to the crowd of slack jawed people who were in disbelief of what was going on before them.

"And you." She motioned to the entire group of people, "You all knew nothing of me or what I had been through, yet you taught your children to run away from me and to hate me. You closed your businesses when I came around, wouldn't give me a job or a place to call my own. You all treated me as if I was not even a human being." She shook her head, "And now, because the great Harry Potter says that it was a mistake, you all offer me lunch or free drinks, deals on a place to stay or in your store." She laughed, "You all disgust me and I want absolutely nothing to do with your hospitality so bugger off!"

And with one last look at the medal she had been given, she tossed it to the floor and walked away leaving the Minister almost in tears, Ron looking embarrassed, Harry shaking his head in disbelief, the crowd in shock, and in the back, Draco with a huge smile plastered across his face.

Break

The next day found Hermione in a cheery looking office sitting across from Divinity Clousin, her ministry appointed therapist. Divinity was in all respect, a beautiful witch with her milk chocolate colored skin, her striking golden eyes, and her hair that reminded Hermione of a fairy, dark, long, with vibrant pink highlights. Hermione knew the men followed her around like dogs in heat. But the most enchanting thing about Divinity is that while she was beautiful, she didn't carry herself like a stuck up snob. She was actually very down to earth and a little untraditional which made the whole process easier.

Hermione sighed again, thinking of the question she was asked. Why did she turn the ceremony upside down? Should she have just accepted and walked away? Well, that was easy enough for her, nope, she was glad she did it that way.

"You wouldn't understand." Hermione finally said as she twisted her hands together. She hated talking about her feeling and why she did things, but she had no choice in the matter. Damn Draco Malfoy.

"Imagine, as a child growing up believing that magic was something that only happened in fairy tales. Then you hit your eleventh birthday and you are told that you are a witch and that magic isn't a fairy tale but a reality." Hermione frowned, "And on top of all of that, there is absolutely no reason that you should have magic because your parents are muggles. It's like being told that you are a new generation, the first in your line, and that your children, and their children, and so on, will forever be part of this world that you have only just discovered existed. But you accept it, take pride in it and decide that no matter what, you are going to make a name for yourself, learn everything that you never dared to believe you would learn, and you accept it, embrace it even. And then you find out that you, even though you have magic, are hardly considered a witch at all. You're a muggle born and therefore, a freak of nature. Sure, some people are fine with it, but others aren't and make it known."

And one day you are put in a situation where you risk your life for these people, even the ones that hate you, but you're okay with it because in the end, it will make life easier for you and others like you."

She then looked to Divinity

"But nothing that you do or have done matters because in the end, you are still a muggleborn. Still a freak of nature and someone that doesn't even deserve magic. Someone that can be thrown away easily and not a single person dares to think that maybe, just maybe the person has in fact earned their rights to be accepted in this world."

Divinity frowned, "Come now, Hermione, you can't honestly think that the majority believe that?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know what else to believe. I was a child that had never done anything to anyone, well, not on purpose of without reason. The point is, I was a child. I never had a normal childhood because I spent the majority of my youth trying to save a world that hated my kind.

I was a child who had been raped over and over by a deatheater. A child, who was beaten and abused, forced to live through things that a child or anyone for that matter ever should. A child that did not deserve what was being done to her, but I took it and I dealt with it because when it came down to it, my best mates needed me to keep my mouth shut so they could do what they needed to do. I took it all and begged for death to spare them and everyone else, and it got me nothing but pain and persecution. So, no, I honestly don't know what else to believe in. This world chewed me up and spit me out."

Divinity sighed, Hermione Granger was going to be a tough case and possibly even an impossible case at that. The girl had been put through the ringer from the time she had learned that she had magic in her and it would take a miracle to pull her out of it.

"So tell me then, what is it that you want from life now? What could we try to work on for you to let go of some of this hatred?" Divinity asked. Hermione had never mentioned goals or anything like that. She didn't even know if Hermione had goals.

"Hermione once again shrugged, "I just want to be left alone. There really is nothing else."

"What about love? Marriage? Children?"

This time Hermione smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile, more sadistic than anything.

"All of those things are never going to be possible for me." She said with a hollow laugh, "Love? What is that? I thought I loved and those people tossed me aside like rubbish in a bin. Marriage? You have to have love to have marriage, a happy one at least. And children?" Hermione actually stopped smiling and frowned, "My line dies with me. He took my ability to have children claiming I was too filthy to ever reproduce. Even if I was able to have them, what could I possibly give them. I'm not emotionally normal, much less sane. You know what I did for a living. I am a monster and incapable of loving anyone, much less a child who depends on me for anything."

"You are not a monster, Hermione. Emotionally unstable, yes, but no monster. Besides, you know that doctor in Germany has offered to repair your body in that respect. He can give you back the ability to have children if you ever decide."

"But at what cost?" Hermione asked, "The man is revolutionary, top of his field. Witches wait for years to see him and he doesn't come cheap. It's a lot of time and money that I don't have, much less to do something that will never be used."

"But I think in some ways, even if you never have children, that it will be valuable for the healing process. It is one more thing that you would have control over. You will have the ability back to use if you so wish!"

Divinity sighed and shuffled a few papers around on her desk before finding what she was looking for. She handed Hermione a business card with the doctor's name on it.

"Besides, the doctor has already offered to give you treatment, without the long wait and without cost." She pulled a picture out of another file and passed it to Hermione. The picture was of a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, who looked as if she had no hope in the world. But the girls eyes are what she noticed most. They held the same dead look that she had been holding for years.

"Dr. Hall came to me a few years back. He gave me permission to speak to you about his case." Divinity sat back in her chair, "I had just started my practice, just a year out of University and still quite wet behind the ears, but he had heard about me and decided to seek me out. Dr. Hall had come across a case of a young woman who had a very similar situation to you. He tried for years to help the woman so that she could have a child, but nothing worked and the woman, being at her wits end had decided to end her life. Dr. Hall had finally finished the treatment that would help her and decided to pay her a visit personally to give her the news only to find her body and a letter saying that she couldn't handle it anymore. Needless to say, Dr. Hall blamed himself for not being to help her sooner and he needed to talk to someone about it, someone who might understand what was going on in the woman's head and that is why he came to me." She shook her head, "Dr. Hall and I are still close and when he learned about you, sent me a letter immediately, before you and I even had our first session. He wants to help you and at the same time, help himself."

Hermione looked at the picture again and as much as she wanted to fight everything, she couldn't suppress the feeling, the very strange feeling, that there was in fact hope.

Children, out of everything, was the one thing she had the hardest time trying to forget. She had always wanted children and had worked very, very hard on convincing herself that she didn't because from what she understood, she didn't even have the ability. It was just easier to pretend that you didn't want what you couldn't have. But now, she could have it. She would be able to have the choice if she wanted to further her line, something that both scared and enticed her. She was now officially confused.

She sat the picture down and looked to Divinity, "This is very hard for me." She said, trying to maintain her composure.

Hermione stood from her chair, "When Lucius Malfoy took my ability to have children, he took more than just that. He took my dreams and my hopes." She wiped the tears that were falling and she hated that they were falling because it wasn't fair. She had worked hard to hate everyone and everything. She had worked hard to be emotionless and cold. She had worked hard on all of those things and now a single sliver of hope and she was crying like an emotional twit.

"And for years, YEARS, I have worked hard, suppressed feelings, and generally avoided anything to do with children and the idea of even wanting them… and now you tell me that it's possible? That I could have that again, but my body is in conflict. My brain is telling me to run from you, this crazy idea of fixing my body. The insane idea of even considering what it would be like to have a child all the while my heart, one I considered dead is actually screaming in happiness that there is a chance, something I was lead to believe would never happen." Hermione actually sobbed, "I hate this." And before Divinity could say another word, Hermione ran from the office as if Hades himself was chasing her. She needed to be away from everyone, including herself.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Hello again, 2x in one day, wow. Any who, I am committing review suicide because lets face it, posting more than one chapter in a day leads to far less reviews. However, while I love them, I love you guys more and I feel that you have been neglected even though I wasn't sure where I was going with the story, but now that I know, I owe you as many chapters as I can produce. Enjoy

'Why couldn't anyone just leave things alone?' She thought to herself as she walked the darkening streets of muggle London. She wasn't happy, was never happy, but she had come to some kind of mental agreement with herself to never think on things that could not be changed and in a matter of a weeks, everything had in fact changed.

How many hours did she cry about her inability to have children? How many days did she cry because she had lost everything? Too many was the answer she came up with.

The last few weeks had proved to be nothing short of torture for her. Did no one realize how hard it was to actually sit down with fucking Potter and act like they had some sort of friendship? She understood in a way, Potter was in the same boat as she was in some respect, being thrown into a life where everyone including their uncles had expectations of him, but when the incident occurred, did no one really understand or realize that he was a mental cripple because of the stress of saving the world and the loss of those who had fought alongside him?

She didn't know and probably never would but when you boiled down the bullshit, she was the one who ended up the mental cripple, not Potter because he had people to help him heal. She had no one.

She sat down under a tree, leaning her back against the hard bark. She had flipped out and she knew she had. She had lost her sense of control. Something that never should have happened. But it was their faults, all of them because _they_ insisted she needed healing. She was fine, content even, and they had to go and fuck everything up.

She closed her eyes as her own image flashed across her mind. The skinny, frail girl who was already fighting her emotions when it came to remembering what she had been through. The feeling of Mrs. Weasley's hand rubbing comforting circles on her back as she relayed her story to at least half a dozen people, the majority of them male, and despite everything, she knew she would make it through because she had them. She had Harry and the Weasleys, she knew she would be fine.

And then a few days later Mrs. Weasley had taken her to St. Mungo's for a secondary checkup and it was during this checkup that the healers had confirmed that Lucius Malfoy did in fact ruin any chances of her ever bearing children. She was a wreck, a disaster, but Molly, sweet, sweet, Molly had promised her that she would always be there for her, even cried right along with her when she heard the news, and again, she knew she would be fine because she had them to help her through.

What a crock of shit it turned out to be.

But now, now there was a hope and while she did, despite her internal fight, want children, she was also scared to death of what it entailed. Yes, you heard it, she was scared.

If she went through the procedure, it was one more thing she could think of Lucius and laugh at him. She could take back that part of her life and scream to him that he had failed. It would be a small victory, but a victory none the less.

But then there was the whole process of actually having children. Having children meant having sex and she had only really done that one time willingly and it wasn't easy for her either.

Sure, she could go to a muggle clinic and avoid an actual father all together, but that was never in her mind, not to mention she knew she couldn't do it alone. She wasn't in that kind of mind frame. Children needed lots and lots of attention, something she couldn't guarantee that she would be able to give, therefore, a father was mandatory.

She rubbed her hands over her face and through her hair, gripping a handful on both sides. She hated this confusion. It was too mentally draining and physically exhausting.

It all came back to the sex part of it. Lucius was all she had ever known. He had taken her innocence and used her for his whore. She never liked it, not even in the slightest, but it was something she knew. She knew him. She knew that Lucius was mean, rough, and didn't consider her in the least. Broken arms, broken legs, it didn't matter as long as he could get himself off. Her screams of pain only amused him.

And then there was her one mutual sexual excursion. It was odd to say the least, sleeping with the son of the man that had basically ruined you. The contrast was simply remarkable, black and white, one rough and uncaring, the other gentle and kind. But he was able to show her that sex didn't always mean pain and shame. He had accomplished that and didn't even flinch when he noticed that her body held the scars caused by his father.

She rubbed her face again, everything was just so backwards and fucked up. The one to help her was the one who called her names in school and bullied her and the people she had considered family had ditched her when she needed them the most.

Why couldn't people just leave things alone? What was the phrase she one heard? Let sleeping dogs lie? Yeah, she wasn't that lucky.

Break

By the time she pulled herself together and made her way to her flat, she was exhausted and in desperate need for sleep. Everything was slow for her, her movements, her thought processes, everything and sleep was the only cure.

She dressed for bed in a pair of baggy sweat pants and a wife beater shirt. The perfect combination in her opinion, one garment making her feel warm and secure, the other not making her feel restricted. She reached for the cigarette on her night stand and lit it, sucking the poison into her lungs with a happy sigh.

As she took a drag, she found some peace in knowing that she didn't have to meet anyone the next day, not Harry or Divinity, and it was a welcoming relief, but she did have a nagging thought that kept running through her head, Dr. Hall. Could he really perform a miracle?

She stood from her bed and went to the rickety desk in the corner, pulling out a parchment and quill. She wasn't sure what she was going to write or even why she was doing it, but the idea wouldn't leave her alone.

Dipping the quill, she started writing what came to her mind, hoping that through her sleepiness and stress that it at least made sense.

Healer Hall or Dr. Hall? Did it matter?

She shrugged to herself, Dr. Hall it was.

_Dr. Hall_

_Divinity told me that you offered you services for my medical condition. I do not have high hopes, but would be interested in meeting with you to discuss._

_Regards_

_Hermione J. Granger_

Simple, straight forward, and to the point. Just how she liked it.

She called for her raven, a bird she had named Maggie. Owls were overrated. And Maggie had spunk to her. She would claw the eyes out of anyone who tried to get the letter if it wasn't address to them.

The bird flapped down, looking at Hermione with curiosity. Sending letters was a rare occurrence as she really didn't have anyone to correspond with, but Maggie was always happy because she had been trained to delivering letters and felt that she was severely underworked.

"Long flight for you girl. This needs to go to Dr. Hall in Germany. No one else is to read it."

The bird did a small bow, letting Hermione know that she understood. She gripped the letter in her talons and took flight. She was finally being put to use and she would make sure she got it right.

Hermione took one last drag off the cigarette before snuffing it out and climbing into bed. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake, or getting her hopes up about something that couldn't be fixed.

Break

Hermione woke the next morning feeling groggy and unrested. Falling asleep had been a harder task than she had expected. Her mind simply wouldn't turn off and when it finally did, her dreams plagued her because most were of Lucius but one was from his son, Draco.

She shifted to the sitting position and quietly padded her way to the loo. She hated her bathroom. It was small, dingy, and held nothing personal besides a towel, tooth brush and paste, and a small basket containing a brush and hair ties. It was gray where it should have been white, but truthfully, she didn't care. It got the job done.

After relieving herself she grabbed for the tooth brush and paste so she could get that out of the way. She walked from the bathroom, still brushing, as she headed for the kitchen to find something to eat. Her stomach was trying to eat itself she was sure.

She pulled a few cabinets open and didn't bat an eyelash when she realized how much she didn't have. Eating wasn't one of those things she cared to do, it was a waste of time but her body would argue with her. It needed fuel.

Not finding anything there she moved to the fridge where she found eggs. Good enough. She thought as she walked back to the bathroom to finish her teeth.

When she finally finished up, she walked out to the kitchen make herself some eggs only to find Maggie sitting on the counter top with a letter dropped before her.

"He was quick." She muttered to Maggie, who looked exhausted. And she was, but she was determined to do her job right.

She hesitated for a moment before opening the letter:

_Dear Ms. Granger,_

_Divinity was absolutely correct. I am offering my services to you at no cost as I feel it will be a great help to the both of us. My staff has been informed and you will be given priority. Come sometime today and we can get everything started._

_On a side note, Because of the distance and the procedure itself will be a tiring ordeal, I suggest bringing a friend with you to help. Take care and the address is below._

_Sincerely_

_Dr. Gregory Hall_

A friend? Yeah because I have loads of those. She thought to herself as she sat the letter down. She only had two choices, one was Divinity and the most logical, the other was Draco Malfoy because he had gone where no man, father excluded, had gone before and he owed her big time.

She laughed as she cracked the first egg, imagining the conversation with Draco. 'Hey Draco, I have a favor. I saved your daughter and let you have sex with me so now I need you to take me to Germany so that can fix my lady parts, you know, the ones your father destroyed.'

That would go over like a fart in church, but still, Divinity was always busy and less known to her. They had never even breached the subject with the exception of the last meeting. Draco it was then, well, if he would agree.

She decided to pay him a visit as soon as she was done eating that way if he said no, she would have time to get to Divinity.

Break

Draco sat at the small round table as he waited for Hermione. To say he was shocked to receive a letter requesting an urgent meeting would be a massive understatement. None the less, Snape was watching Abby and he was here, drumming his fingers on the table as he waited, the curiosity killing him.

He was a bit off because of the letter. He, in reality never expected to see her again after the stunt he pulled, but he did it for her own good. He had no doubts that the girl would be six feet under right now had he not stepped in.

But it was something he had to do. He felt he owed it to her not only for saving his daughter, but because his father had gone way, way , way too far with his stupid, blood purity beliefs.

He heard the door open and looked up to see her walking towards him. She looked uncomfortable and completely out of her zone. This should be interesting.

She sat down, refusing the waitress as she tried to push the menu towards her. She took a deep breath and looked up to the curious eyes of Draco.

"Malfoy." She said a bit softer than she had planned.

She cleared her throat, "I uh, I have a favor to ask of you and I will tell you up front that I am not entirely comfortable or sure why I picked you." She fidgeted with her hands, hoping the words came out correctly, "I need an escort."

Draco laughed, "Well, we've done it before, I see no problem with it."

Hermione reddened, "Not that type of escort." Merlin he was making her more uncomfortable and it was on purpose she was sure.

"I need someone to escort me to Germany for the day. I need to see a healer there and he suggested I bring someone with me… and I think you are the best option."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Why me?"

"Because I'm sure as hell not asking Potter." She replied, "Besides, you and I have, um, well, you know, and this sort of relates to that."

Now he was confused. What exactly was she talking about?

She sighed in annoyance at his look of complete confusion, "We had sex, okay, remember that? And this relates to that, sort of."

His eyebrows rose, how in the hell could he forget that? He never did, in reality it never really left his mind unless he was completely busy with something else.

"What kind of healer?" He finally asked, now that he was on the right page with her.

"Dr. Gregory Hall." She said as she looked down at the table, "He- he thinks he can fix me so that if I ever decide to have children… I could."

Draco nodded in complete understanding. He knew the details.

"When do we leave?" He asked

Hermione looked up, shocked that he'd agreed so easily, "As soon as you can get ready. He is waiting for me."

Draco nodded, "I'll meet you at your flat in an hour."

Hermione nodded and wrote down the address. She left the restaurant feeling slightly relieved.

Break

Draco wouldn't be the first to tell you he was comfortable with this situation, but he did want her to get help. And he even understood why she would ask him rather than someone else. But it was very odd. Taking Hermione Granger to a healer for her baby factory that his father ruined was something he never in a million years thought he would be dealing with, yet here he was packing a small bag with an extra set of clothes while explaining to Snape about where he was going, all the while, Abby was bouncing on his bed singing a song about rats and bats, no doubt Snapes doing.

Snape was smirking the entire time, not at Draco, but the situation. Even by his standards it was odd.

"So tomorrow?" Snape asked, while holding onto the back of Abby's shirt so that if she did nose dive, she wouldn't go far.

"I'll probably be back tonight, but I'm not certain. We are going to Germany and im not sure if he's doing the procedure today or if its just a consult." He finished with a shrug.

Snape nodded, "Well, which ever, Abby will be fine. She seems to be enthralled with my hair."

Draco smiled, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that she gave me pig tails like her dolly not more than an hour ago. If it was anyone else they would be dead."

Draco laughed before grabbing a squealing Abby and giving her a tight hug, "Daddy will be back soon, Princess, so don't give Uncle Severus and problems."

Abby teared up a little but nodded.

Draco shrunk down the small bag and placed it in his pocket. Giving Abby one more hug and kiss and a hand shake to Severus, before he disappeared with a small crack to the address that Granger had given him. It was going to be a long day.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Hello all. This will probably be the last update until after Wednesday because I have midterms and they must come first. Enjoy.

Both Hermione and Draco looked very out of place sitting in the waiting area of Dr. Halls practice. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but out of all the scenarios that had run through her mind, this was never one of those, not even close.

Expensive would be an understatement, even Draco looked in awe, which was shocking on some level, but she was just floored, especially when she discovered the bathroom was bigger than her flat all together. The furnishings were all made of a dark rich wood. The marble floors shined with a high glare. The couches they sat on were comfortable but not the broke in comfortable, the 'I'm made to be this comfortable' way. She didn't dare touch anything that she didn't have to.

"Granger?" A voice came from above.

Hermione looked up to see a petite mousey looking nurse with a warm smile.

"Dr. Hall is waiting for you now. He seems like he is quite anxious to meet you."

Hermione nodded and stood along with Draco. The nurse turned and started to walk towards a large set of wooden doors with a gold plaque on the middle warning 'Private'. She glanced over towards Draco who looked quite a bit more uncomfortable than he had a few minutes earlier.

The last door was pushed open and Hermione found herself face to face with an older man, mid-sixties was her guess, but very friendly looking, almost fatherly.

"I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am that you have taken me up on my offer."

Dr. Hall glanced over to Draco and smiled, but it wasn't as friendly as Hermione's smile was.

"Come, sit down so we can discuss your condition and course of treatment."

"Pleasure to meet you as well." She said softly, making her way to one of the two chairs that were being offered. She took the one further in so Draco wouldn't have to step around her. She was scared. She wasn't even going to fool herself.

The doctor took his chair and scooted it in, "I am a man who likes to get right to the point. I would like to discuss your condition, the treatment, and answer any further questions you may have." He smiled warmly again, "I don't expect this to be easy for you, not in the least, but I believe you are making the right choice by coming here."

Hermione nodded. She had one question on her mind. One question that had been the root of all thoughts since she had been offered the treatment.

"What are the chances that it will work?" She asked in a firm, yet scared voice, "I mean, ten percent, less than one percent, I admit I really don't know much about any of this."

Draco remained quiet, letting future patient and healer speak.

"How does one hundred percent sound to you Ms. Granger?"

Hermione smiled but still looked reserved. The doctor sat back, the smile never leaving his face.

"From what I gather, Mr. Malfoy didn't just sterilize you, he took from you."

Hermione nodded.

"It's a sad day when a spell created for good turns out to be used for something so bad." He said with a sigh, his smile finally faltering a little. "You see, the spell that was used was created for witches who were suffering from cancer in their uterus or ovaries. Back then, little was known about treatment so healers created the next best thing, this spell, that would eliminate both organs and essentially eliminate the cancer. However, when darker witches and wizards learned the spells complexities, they decided to use it on any witch that they saw fit, much like Mr. Malfoy did to you.

Now, the spell was irreversible once cast, not even the caster could stop it once the spell was uttered and it remained that way for many, many years, but when my first case came along that involved it, I was determined to change it. It took me years to figure it out and when I finally did, I was too late for the girl."

Hermione nodded, knowing the story.

"How do you reverse it?" Draco finally piped in, "How do you fix something that isn't even there?"

The doctor smiled, "We regrow it." He said simply. "The procedure is actually fairly simple and works much in the same way as the potion used to regrow bones. Anything the potion finds in the body that is missing will regrow and full function will be restored."

"So I drink a potion and it's all fixed… just like that?"

" Just like that." Hall repeated, "But it will be painful and no other potions can be used, not even for pain." He sighed again, "You will feel like your insides are on fire and beyond that, where your reproductive organs should be, you will feel extreme discomfort. That is the down side. The upside is that it only takes two hours, three tops, and you will be good as new."

Hermione looked slightly panicky. It sounded horrid, easy, but horrid.

"Can I think for a few minutes?" she asked.

The doctor nodded and Hermione stood, pacing the area behind the chairs. She didn't expect it to be all rainbows and kittens, but she wasn't sure she was ready to add more pain down there, not after everything she went through.

'But this could be my chance' she thought, 'My only chance and its only for a few hours. I handled five months of being tortured, I can handle two or three hours, right?' she nodded to herself, pulling the knuckle that she had been chewing on from her mouth.

"When would the procedure take place?" She asked.

"As soon as you sign the consent forms. You will be taken to a room, a quick physical exam to ensure that there are no other problems, and then you will be given the potion. The room is not a traditional room though, you will have a larger bed so that you can move comfortably, there is a chair for visitors," he stated, motioning to Draco, "And a nurse will be standing outside of the room in case you need anything."

Hermione thought for a minute before nodding. She looked towards Draco.

"Can he be there the entire time?"

"If you wish it. I only ask for a moment of privacy before he joins you so that I can discuss another matter."

"It's fine." Draco said, "I'll do what you need me to do."

She let out a sigh, "Okay. Let's do this."

Break

Hermione sat on the large bed feeling very out of sorts. She was in a gown much like she would get in a muggle hospital with no undergarments on what so ever. She was nervous. She jumped a little as the door opened and Dr. Hall walked in, followed by the mousey nurse from earlier in the day.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I have asked for a moment of privacy." He stated as he approached the bed and pulled up the stool. "It's just, Lucius Malfoy is the one who did this to you and yet, his son is standing on the other side of the door ready to help. Help me understand this?"

Hermione nodded. She had a feeling that was going to come up, but what would she say? She decided to wing it and shrugged.

"He's not his father." She said simply, "And as far as this situation is concerned, Draco and his father are the only ones I know." She shook her head, "It's very hard to explain, I should be petrified to be near him… but I'm not. I'm comfortable around him."

He smiled, "That's all I needed to hear. I just wanted to make sure that he was the right one to be here."

He nodded again and the nurse left to allow Draco entrance. He was deathly pale. He never did handle appointments well when it came to lady parts, but there was nothing for it. He came here and did everything he could to help her, he had made her that promise weeks ago, and he would hold true to his word. He walked over and stood near the bed, not sure what to expect, yet ready for almost anything.

"Lay back for me." The doctor stated as he pulled on the powdered latex gloves.

Hermione did as asked but turned her head to the side. Draco was different, in a sick way, he reminded her of his father, well, where looks were concerned and she had learned to deal with it. Just like you stay in crappy relationship because they are familiar and change could go either way. But now, this man was down there and he was viewing the area only seen by a few. She wanted to close her legs and back away as quick as she could, but she kept her panic in check and breathed deeply.

Until she felt his hands spread her legs further apart. The walls were closing in around her and she couldn't seem to breathe. She felt like she was being violated again and the rational part of her brain was trying to calm her, trying to tell her that he was a medical professional and not some randy death eater looking for a quick fix, but the irrational part of her was screaming because his hands were down there, looking there, seeing the scars.

A sob escaped as she clutched for the bed spread, hoping to Merlin, God, whoever was watching over them that it would be over soon. She felt exposed, too exposed and she couldn't control the fear.

She reached for the bedspread again but only found a hand. Turning her head she met Dracos eyes, she could see his worry and the fact that he was trying to comfort her, but it was hardly registering as a blip on her radar.

He leaned over placing his face close to hers, something the Doctor noticed as he tried to hurry up and get everything done with. His face came into her view and she stilled, not releasing the death grip she had on his hand.

"Just look at me. Don't pay any attention to anything going on in this room, just you and me."

She nodded, not trying to hide the fear or the tears. She was petrified, but she didn't look away, she couldn't.

"Remember when you hit me? In third year?"

She nodded.

"Do you know I was the talk of Slytherin for three weeks? Goyle had opened his mouth and all of the other Slytherins got a good kick out of it."

She nodded.

"You were trying to save Hagrids bloody overgrown chicken and you hit me."

She smiled a bit, only grimacing for a second as the doctor moved.

"I'll admit, you surprised me that day. I never thought you had it in you, but you did."

"You were being vile." She replied, not looking away from him.

"I was, I know that now. But you showed a lot of strength that day, you went against me and did something Potter and Weasley had been wanting to do but didn't have the balls. You've always been the stronger one and you are stronger than this. Don't let my father win, Granger, don't let him affect you for the rest of your life." He grinned briefly, " and it's almost over."

Hermione nodded again and sighed with relief as she felt the Doctors hand leave her body.

"is… it over?"

Draco looked over and upon receiving a nod from Dr. Hall, he smiled, "It's over."

She was still shaky but she was coming down from her panic as she sat up.

"I'm terribly sorry about that, Ms. Granger, but it was necessary." Hall stated, looking rather sad. "Now, everything looks good down there, no concerns about anything so I will go and retrieve the potion."

Draco noticed the man left a little quicker then he probably normally did, but it didn't shock him, even the nurse looked ready to burst out in tears.

"I'll be outside the door if you need anything." The nurse stated, leaving just as quickly.

It only took a few minutes for the doctor to return with the blood red potion in hand. He still looked shaken.

"Now, drink this up, the entire potion. It only takes a few minutes for it to get to work so before you drink, prepare yourself.

"I'm sorry." She blurted, "I – I kind of lost it for a minute and I'm sorry."

Hall handed her the potion with a smile, "perfectly understandable, Ms. Granger. No harm done."

And with a final glance and a pat on her shoulder, he left the room.

Break

Draco watched as Hermione coiled into the fetal position, rocking back and forth with silent screams. No wonder there were big beds, she would have fallen to the floor on anything less.

It had been an hour since she drank and what looked not to be not so bad at first had turned into a nightmare. He wasn't good at seeing anyone in pain, especially not her, and it bothered him.

She uncoiled and sat up, clutching her stomach and feeling sick. He reached for the vomit bowl, but she shook her head and crashed back down to the mattress. He felt useless.

He paced. It was all he could think to do. Pace and wait until it calmed down. He hoped that she was lucky and it was half way through rather than only a third of the way. He glance over again to see her on her knees, face buried into the pillow while her hands gripped the bed spread. He felt bad for her and angry with his father, far more angry than he had ever been.

_One hour, thirty minutes_

She wasn't silently screaming now, but she was in pain. Her muscles felt like they were being torn from the bone, lit on fire, and put back in… and her stomach, she imagined that lava only got this hot, but she was growing weak, she could feel it and she almost welcomed it. To pass out would be a blessing.

She was torn though, happy that she was getting this back, but she needed something else, something more, something akin to comfort and she knew where to find it, he had given it to her before when she had nightmares. It was worth a shot.

"Draco?"

He stopped pacing and rushed to the bed.

"Do you remember when I had nightmares?"

He nodded.

"Can – can you do that for me… again?" She asked through her clinched teeth, her voice raspy from straining.

He nodded, unable to find words and not thinking words were important anyway. He knew the simple fact that she asked for help was hard for her to do. He wouldn't make in any weirder.

He climbed into the bed behind her, pulled her close, and covered them up. He hoped that time was almost up for her sake. He looked at his watch, an hour and 45 minutes in, he leaned to tell her but she had gone still, her prayer for passing out answered.

He continued to hold her, provide her comfort, and while he said he would do anything he could to help her, he felt a little odd being the one to do it, especially considering if it weren't for his father, she wouldn't be in this position anyway.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Sorry about the wait for this update. I have been sick as hell, even making a few trips to the ER to make sure I didn't have pneumonia. I thought about writing many times but as crappy as I felt, all I wanted to do is sleep because thinking took way to much energy.

Things for our dear Hermione are starting to change. She is by no means the Hermione she was before, but she is starting to evolve back into a human mind frame and not an emotionless killing machine.

I know some of you want me to keep her in dark frame of mind, and it will always linger, but I think the real Hermione would have too much spirit to stay broken forever.

3 months later

Divinity sat with a defeated slump to her normally proud posture. It wasn't easy to admit failure, especially when failure was an unfamiliar feeling, but she had failed so far, not completely, but she didn't make her goal with Hermione which made her a failure in her book.

She continued to look at her notes, tapping the quill against her desk and only occasionally glancing to the girl sitting across from her, who was by all means fidgeting with the hem of her robes again.

She sighed and sat the notes down, "So you have nothing else you want to add? Nothing at all?"

Hermione shrugged, "Nope, nothing has changed."

Divinity lulled her head back, "You are aware that our progress has stalled?"

Hermione frowned, "I don't know why I'm still having to do this! I'm not a danger to anyone or myself."

Divinity sighed, "You know as well as I do, Hermione, that because of your level of training and past profession, that I need to be one thousand percent sure that you are stable."

Hermione tried to accept Divinity's words, but it had been months without a single incident, "Well what do they want from me?" Hermione finally asked with edge to her voice and her brows creased, "Do they want me to say that I'm happy? That I forgive everyone for everything? That I view the world as a warm fuzzy place with puppies and rainbows?" She shook her head, "I just don't know what you people want from me… it's not like I've hurt anyone and I just want to be left alone to move through this life at my own pace and my own way."

"It's not that simple –"Divinity started but was cut off by Hermione.

"But it is!" Hermione said hotly, "I didn't get this damaged overnight you know. It took years for me to get this way and it will probably take years to work through half of my problems, but trying to make me talk about things and work through things that I'm not ready to handle yet isn't going to get either one of us anywhere."

Divinity nodded, "I understand, I really do, but the ministry doesn't see things the way we do. They see you as a trained killer, incapable of love or true emotion, incapable of change."

Hermione slumped into her chair, defeated. "I just – I just want to be able to work through things at my own pace. This schedule, routine, whatever you want to call it is putting too much pressure on me." Hermione shifted and sighed uncomfortably, "I dread waking up. Not in the 'I'm going to kill myself way', but the 'oh, great, another day in fucking paradise' way. I'm, I'm stuck dealing with all of these emotions that I have tucked away for so long. Forced to interact with people that I told myself I would never forgive, and expected to bare my soul to you, a person who I didn't even know existed until a few months ago." She shook her head, "I know you say you understand, and I honestly believe you think you do… but until you have been in my shoes, been shunned the way ive been shunned, - taken a life to protect something that couldn't give a rat's ass about you… you just can't truly understand."

Divinity lowered her head a little; she knew the witch was right.

Break

Draco checked his watch for the twentieth time in the last five minutes. She was running behind today and he was growing cranky.

Cranky wasn't what a Malfoy was allowed to be. Mean, cruel, and even angry, but cranky? No that was for ladies, not men.

He scanned the crowds once more in search of the bushy head of hair that would always stand out. Granted, it had been tamed up a bit, but it was still unmistakable.

He groaned and kicked the wall when she still couldn't be seen. Today was the day that they would find out if the procedure had worked, truly worked, and not just because a diagnostic spell said so.

He rubbed his hands against his face. Why was he even doing this? Why did he care so much? But he knew the answers, all of them, and he discovered a while ago that there was no use in fighting the truth.

The truth of the matter was, Granger trusted him more than anyone else… and it felt good because her trust had nothing to do with his money. For some reason, it was he that she went to when she needed to vent or just didn't want to be alone, him, not Potter or anyone else, him… and he was selfish enough to want to keep it that way. And it also felt good because no one had ever trusted him and she had trusted him when she was vulnerable and in pain. He puffed his chest out a bit on that one.

And then there was Abby. Hermione tried to act indifferent when the child was around, but he could see the subtle changes in her. When he and Hermione had first formed some sort of a friendship, Hermione would often avoid Abby like the plague, but the more she was around Abby, the more he would see her watching his daughter play with a faint smile on her lips, or the way Hermione would watch out for the little girl, even looking slightly worried when Abby would disappear from sight. It was welcoming news to him.

He also felt like she deserved some good in life, even if she wasn't ready to accept any of it. This procedure, well, it was an unexpected miracle… well, if it had actually worked. But beyond that, she had allowed him to be a part of her life while she kept everyone else at bay. She opened up with him, laughed at and with him, even accepted his comfort, and while it was odd at the beginning, a close friendship had blossomed and they now spent more time together than apart.

"Kicking walls will do nothing but scuff your shoes." She said as she walked up behind him.

Draco spun, relieved to find Hermione smirking at him.

"So, you ready to see if this worked?"

Draco nodded, "For Merlins sake woman, I have been here for almost half hour and I'm not the one finding out if I can get knocked up."

Hermione slapped his arm good naturedly, "Well, today should be interesting." She said with a nod.

"Odd is right." Draco said with a bewildered expression.

"It's just a mock pregnancy. Nothing serious."

Draco shook his head, "If you say so."

Hermione smiled and started walking towards the doors of the fertility clinic but stopped when she felt Draco grab her arm from behind and pull her back. She turned and looked at him with confusion.

"What was that for?" she asked.

Draco sighed, "I just can't help but wonder if this is such a good idea." He said looking frustrated, "I mean, you said yourself that you've always wanted children but accepted that my father had ruined that. Then, years later you are offered a chance to have that ability again… and I support it, I really do, but this part of the procedure just seems cruel."

Now she was confused, "What the hell are you on about?"

Draco leaned against the wall, "When I found out that my wife was pregnant, I was thrilled. More than thrilled, I was excited and knew that even though the child wasn't here yet , I would give my life to protect it. The feeling was strong for me right out of the gate and the longer the pregnancy went on, the more I was looking forward to the birth and having my child with me. It's really hard to explain, actually.

I know this may be different for you, but I am really starting to see you opening up and turning more and more into the Granger we all know and I'm worried that with this mock pregnancy that you may become attached to this fake baby and retreat back into your shell when it's time to end it. It just seems counterproductive giving you what you want only to snatch it from you in a month."

Hermione nodded and leaned against the wall with him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cigarette. After lighting it, she let out a smoke filled breath, "I thought about that too." She said honestly, she let out a shaky laugh, "I've been convincing myself all week that this is fake, like a more advanced diagnostic, but it hasn't been easy. I am worried that I'm not stable enough to keep the mind set that in a month, the child growing inside me will be gone, yet I will have experienced everything an expectant mother would. I worry that I can't separate test from reality, but I don't know any other options."

Draco nodded in agreement; he didn't know what else to do either.

"Well, let's just go in and talk to the good doctor and tell him how you feel… he may have other options."

Hermione nodded, flicked the cigarette to the street as he put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her into the large fertility clinic.

Break

The room they found themselves in was an extreme contrast to the room she had the procedure in. This room was white, sterile, unfriendly, and didn't provide the slightest bit of comfort that the first room had, not to mention the hard as a rock chair that Draco was forced to sit in or the high table with stirrups for Hermione. Both looked ready to bolt.

Draco sighed as they waited in silence, both uncomfortable and neither wanting to discuss the heavy tension in the air. This felt too personal for him, like he shouldn't be there because this wasn't just a potion that needed drinking, this was life creating. Something a woman and a man who were in a relationship should be experiencing, not two former rivals who had formed a fragile yet comfortable friendship.

Both jumped when the door opened.

Dr. Hall walked in with a broad smile, seemingly excited about the next leg of the journey to repair Hermione Granger. He was oblivious to the tension.

"Well, now, the day has finally come." He said with a chipper voice, "How are you feeling, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione took a deep breath before glancing over towards Draco who was watching her, silently pushing her to tell him what they had discussed.

"I'm doing well, I suppose." She answered, "But I will admit that I have a few concerns about this."

"Well, that is what I am here for, well, not all that I am here for, but it is a perk." He said with a smile. "Now what is troubling you?"

Hermione glanced over to Draco who was nodding at her and encouraging her to speak her mind.

"It's just that I'm having conflicting emotions about this. My mind knows that this is all fake but I'm afraid that because this is the one thing that I have always wanted, that my heart won't listen to reason when it comes time to terminate."

Dr. Hall nodded in understanding, "I can see where this could be problematic because no matter what, the golem child will vanish in 30 days time. It's meant to be purely scientific."

He stood from his little stool and paced for a minute as if trying to solve the problem. He didn't want to push her but it was necessary that this happen before the window of secondary repair was closed and the possibility of her sterilization became very permanent.

"I completely understand your concerns and knowing your background, I must admit that I am torn on what to do." He said honestly, "This isn't just a test to see if you can indeed get pregnant, but to also see if your body is back to normal so that you can also carry a child. Getting pregnant is, after all, only half the battle.

But the main reason for this test is that if by chance you cannot get pregnant or carry a child, a secondary dose of the potion would be required, however, we only have a small window of time to complete this and as it has already been three months, the window shrinks daily."

He sat back down and looked to both Hermione and Draco, "Five months is all we have and three have already passed. At five months, the repairs are permanent and cannot be improved or changed, however, if a second potion is given, the drinker has an addition 5 months to see if everything is in working order. This final test, this pregnancy is vital to the failure or success of your fertility."

Hermione and Draco groaned. There was no getting out of this.

"However, I may have an option for you, but I really don't think you will like it."

Hermione perked up, "Whatever it is, I'll consider it.

Dr. Hall nodded, stood, and left the room, returning a minute later with a heavy book. He passed it to Hermione who blushed instantly.

_Sperm donors:_ was what the front cover read.

"Are you serious?" she asked, not sure what she was really thinking either. She held up to book so Draco could read the cover. He turned whiter than normal.

"With this option it would be a real pregnancy and if you conceived and carried to full term, you would end up with a child. The book has donor pictures and donor information so that you can make a decision on who the father would be. This is the only other option… well, you could choose to do neither and your chances of having a child would be like a hit or miss."

"So you want her to get impregnated with some strangers child? One that none of us know the true background of? Medical history of? Or even the true bloodline of? That's a recipe for disaster!" Draco stated, getting slightly angry. The golem was a better choice.

Hermione agreed with Draco as he spoke. She didn't want to take a chance with this, not on something that was so important to her.

"Ill take the golem." She said, pushing the book away. "I need to make sure I can have children, but I also want to know the father when the time comes. I'll just have to deal with this."

Draco nodded, still not happy with the situation, but knowing they, well she, didn't have a choice.

Break

Hermione laid back on the table, exposed to Dr. Hall but only looking at the wall to the left of Dracos face. She was just happy that Dr. Hall didn't physically have to touch her, his wand guided the golem sperm to the right area.

She let out a breath when she heard him say 'nearly finished' and she prayed that he really was.

A minute later she felt him pull the sheet back over her legs, giving her a sense of decency. She would know in an hour if she could in fact conceive.

"Right then." She heard him say, "Keep your legs up and relax. I will be back in an hour to confirm whether or not you are pregnant."

All Hermione could do was nod as he left the room, finally letting her eyes drift to Dracos face who was staring directly at her.

He wasn't speaking but she could read his thoughts through the intensity of his stare. He was sorry, excited, confused, and tense.

She offered him a weak smile.

"Do you think it's going to work?" she finally asked.

"I would be shocked if it didn't." he replied, "I just hope that if it does, you can pull through when the month is over."

"I hope so too." She said with a small crack to her voice, "I just have to remind myself that this is not real, yes, I will be going through the motions, but I have to remind myself that this is just a test."

Draco agreed and continued with small talk, both of them glancing at the clock on the wall as the slowest hour of her life putted along.

The mood in the room lightened drastically until they heard the knock at the door and the door open. This was it. Stage one of two.

"Well, Ms. Granger, I believe this has been a daunting hour for you so we will get straight to the test, unless of course, you have questions?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, I just need to know if this worked." She replied, suddenly feeling very nervous.

Dr. Hall nodded, held his wand over her pelvic region, and said a silent spell.

The tension mounted until the words floated in the air above her. She was pregnant.


End file.
